


Of Magecraft and Ninjutsu

by TanZW



Category: Fate/stay night - All Media Types, Naruto
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Character Study, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Death, F/F, F/M, Harems, Magic, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 129,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24159193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TanZW/pseuds/TanZW
Summary: Adopted from A Dyslexic Writer in Fanfiction.net. Basically Rin messes up an attempt to open a window into the Kaleidoscope and drags Shirou and Sakura with her. Zelretch then sends them off to be reincarnated in the Naruto universe with memories and abilities intact. Mature warning for later in the story because Emiya Shirou is an Eroge Protagonist. Cross posted on fanfiction.net and wattpad.
Relationships: Emiya Shirou/Matou Sakura, Emiya Shirou/Tohsaka Rin
Comments: 24
Kudos: 133





	1. Prologue

**The Seventh Path: Path of Swords**

**This is my attempt at a crossover between Fate Stay Night and Naruto. This was adopted from A Dyslexic Writer.**

**For those who have read the original, you will find much difference as I decided to add my own twist to it. Why send two when it takes three to form a standard Konoha Genin team.**

**Shirou, Rin and Sakura are from a mix of the Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel Route. My knowledge on Type-Moon lore is flimsy at best so any mistakes, put it down to difference in universes.**

**I also might use ideas from other stories, so if any of the authors of those stories take offense, I apologize.**

**Edited 9 May 2020. Corrected some grammatical errors a reviewer pointed out to me. The perils of having no Beta and not using any writing apps.**

**Rewritten 22 May 2020. I changed some things that were pointed out to me by reviewers. Any more inconsistencies you can put down to this being an AU.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Prologue**

'This is a bad idea,' thought Shirou as he watched Rin finish drawing the symbols that made up whatever she was doing. He didn't know, he was still hopeless at anything regarding magecraft that wasn't Reinforcement or Projection.

His name was Emiya Shirou, apprentice mage to one Tohsaka Rin and 25 years old. He was 187 cm tall and weighed in at 78 kg. Dressed in a black skin-tight body armour that showed off his muscular arms along with a red coat, the Holy Shroud of Martin, gifted to him by Caren Hortensia after helping the Holy Church on an Apostle hunt along with armour plated boots. His auburn hair had streaks of white in them from overusing his projection abilities. His skin was still quite fair, but it was getting darker with every passing year. His eyes, once golden brown now had hints of grey in them.

He looked just like Archer did, except he still had most of his auburn hair and light skin tone. The fact that he was looking more and more like Counter Guardian EMIYA was something that secretly worried his two friends a lot.

Standing next to him watching Rin double check that she did everything right, was Matou Sakura, his fellow apprentice and Rin's younger sister. She hasn't changed all too much from their high school days, Shirou notes. Standing at 160 cm tall and weighing 48 kilograms with a figure many girls could only hope for, she had grown a little since then. The 24 years old young woman had violet hair, exotic natural hair colours a common feature among mages, soft purple eyes and E-cup breasts, something that still annoyed Rin. She was dressed in a simple white dress and shoes, giving her an angelic appearance.

Shirou felt a pang of guilt go through him as he looked at Sakura. After the Fifth Holy Grail War, Rin and he had discovered what Matou Zouken had done to her along with Shinji, his once friend and Sakura's adopted brother after she was given to the Matou family as an heir since neither of Zouken's descendants had magic circuits.

Rin had been devastated, her image of her father destroyed with this one discovery of what he subjected her little sister, his own daughter too. There was no way he didn't know of what Sakura would go through once she was given over to the Matou family, the way crest worms worked and Zouken's nature being somewhat common knowledge among magus families that knew of him. There was a reason he had to flee Russia five centuries ago, and that was because the Tsar had found out and he had sent his own mages after him and his entire family. The Makiri line ended there and the Matou line was born in Fuyuki, Japan.

After finding out what had become of her, the two of them went on a two-man crusade against the Matou household. Normally storming a magus home and workshop was suicide, the magus family having had decades or centuries to build up defences and traps. And Zouken was hard to kill, having achieved a form of immortality using his crest worms. Unfortunately for him, he was contending against one of the brightest magi of her generation and a one trick pony with one hell of a trick.

His Reality Marble, Unlimited Blade Works, was an unknown factor to almost everyone among the magus community. Humans who had Reality Marbles were rare to the point of non-existence, with 6, now 7 known. If it was ever discovered that he harboured a Reality Marble, he would have had a Sealing Designation slapped on him faster than he could say 'trace'. There were only three people who knew about it, Rin, Sakura and Zelretch. Zelretch because he knew about it before he even did. Apparently, Emiya Shirou possessing a Reality Marble was a fixed point among their branch of the Kaleidoscope.

It was already developing by the time he joined the War with Saber, meeting Archer merely accelerated it, the soul resonance from both future and present-self causing him to be able to complete and manifest it after their clash of future vs. present, just in time for him to confront Gilgamesh.

With the countless blades in his arsenal, from regular ones to Noble Phantasms, along with Rin's intelligence and the Jewelled Sword of Zelretch that he helped her complete, they managed to destroy every, last one of Zouken's crest worms and penetrate his mansions defence. Not even Shinji was spared when Rin found out about his history of raping Sakura when he boasted about it when they confronted him in the mansion. Shirou stayed silent as Rin killed him without a shred of remorse, having already decided that he never really knew Shinji at all. Besides, they had bigger fish to fry.

Having saved Sakura from Zouken’s clutches, they discovered her body filled with the worms, some of them embedded within her organs and one right where her heart was. Neither of them could do anything about it, none of Shirou's blades could help and Rin meagre knowledge of healing magic not enough to do anything regarding this. So, she did the next best thing, she put Sakura in a stasis of sorts, putting her and the worms in a form of coma.

After that, she left for the Clock Tower in London to seek help from the very person who introduced her family to the Moon-lit World, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Second Magician. Shirou on the other hand, stood guard over Sakura's frozen form, fending off questions from Taiga with a liberal use of hypnosis, something that Rin managed to teach him.

The details on how she managed to get Zelretch's help remain unknown to him, Rin being remarkably tight lipped about it and Zelretch would just laugh when he asked, having a face splitting grin every time, but that didn't matter to him. Zelretch returned with Rin to Fuyuki, opening a portal to him while he was in the shower. Man, that was embarrassing, and Rin couldn't look at him for weeks without blushing.

What Zelretch did that day to free Sakura from those worms was beyond his comprehension, though Rin seemed to have been able to partially follow it. Long story short, Sakura was now worm free and he got a handy new dagger in his Reality Marble that apparently healed anyone he stabbed with it. But that was only the start of a long journey of healing for the last Matou.

Zelretch only healed the physical damage, the mental damage was up to them, not to mention the fact that she now had to relearn how to do magecraft now that she was free from the worms. It took her two weeks to open-up to him and Rin and let all the hurt she had stored over the years out. Never had he ever contemplated bringing Shinji back to life and killing him all over again. Rin looked as if she was considering it when he voiced it out. Though there were some lingering effects from her ordeal, she was healing.

So here they were now, eight years after the Fifth Holy Grail War and apprentices to one Tohsaka Rin. Rin herself was apprenticed to Zelretch, having impressed him by being the first in a long time to complete the Jewelled Sword of Zelretch. Which was what led them to now.

"Nee-san, are you sure that this is safe?" Sakura asked as Rin put the last few touches to the ritual circle that she had written in chalk.

"Of course, it's safe! Don't worry your pretty little head Sakura. Nee-san knows what she is doing." Rin reassured.

Tohsaka Rin at 25 years old was Zelretch's youngest apprentice to date. She was the same height as her sister, 160 cm and weighed 47 kilograms. She had long straight black hair she kept in a ponytail, having forgone her twin tails since they were in her words 'too childish'. Her blue eyes were like sapphires, and she had a modest B-cup breasts, much to her ire. Her outfit was a red long-sleeved blouse and black mini skirt along with black leggings and brown women's boots. She was a vision of beauty to many during their high school days, and remained so as well in the Clock Tower, rivalled by her nemesis Luviagelita Edelfelt. Many a young student competed for their affections and Shirou was envied by many for effortlessly getting it, not that the oblivious man knew or care.

"Really now?" Shirou drawls. "I distinctively remember hearing something similar that lead to the Mary Poppins incident a few months..." He ducked from a Gandr spell she shot at him in irritation.

"We do not talk about that!" Rin yelled, face red at the embarrassing memory. It was all Luvia's fault, and she was sticking to it!

Sakura giggled at that. Shirou loved to tease Rin about her mishaps throughout their time in the Clock Tower. Her rivalry with Luvia was a gold mine of embarrassing stories. Though she liked the Finnish heiress, she was rather haughty and fuelled the fire of their rivalry constantly. Sakura thinks it's because she was lonely and wanted attention from the only group of people who weren't interested in her family name and resources. Though she did feel uncomfortable when she flirted with Shirou and tried to get him to work for her.

"Anyway!" Rin said, "This ritual circle combined with Zelretch's Jewelled Sword should allow me to open a window into the Kaleidoscope and project myself across hundreds of worlds at the same time, since the Sword draws powers from a different dimension. The ritual circle should stay open long enough for me to get a glimpse of the Root, and Shirou is going to be my anchor to make sure I can get back here."

"When did I agree to this?" Shirou asked, not at all surprised at getting roped into one of Rin's experiments. When he wasn't on missions with the Enforcers either hunting Sealing Designates or Dead Apostles, he was Rin's guinea pig since she didn't have the heart to make Sakura one. At least she hasn't put him through anything lethal, yet.

"Silence apprentice!" Rin shouted. "And you volunteered when you didn't bring me anything from the last hunt you went on in the Himalayas! I heard that the designate there had some interesting ingredients he used."

Shirou rolled his eyes. Sorry, he was too busy avoiding getting crushed by giant mutated apes. That guy was way too into the Abominable Snowman myths and was apparently the source of sightings among the mundane population for the past few years.

"Alright, here we go." Rin took a deep breath as Shirou handed her the Jewelled Sword.

The sword was placed directly in the middle of the ritual circle. Rin created a magic rope, tying her to Shirou as she prepares to start the ritual.

Almost immediately, everything went wrong.

Rin's theoretical work on the ritual to open a window into the Kaleidoscope was spot on. She just underestimated how strong the pull would be. She was pulled in by a strong force, disappearing into the portal in an instant.

Shirou wasted no time in trying to pull her back, but the force was too strong. Sakura cried as she was picked up by the force as well, saved from falling into the portal by Shirou's quick reflexes. Shirou traced Rider's chain and daggers, using it as a makeshift anchor as he threw the dagger part of it through the wall with enough force for it to emerge on the other side.

Shirou felt as if he was the rope in a tug of war. Rin and the magical rope that attached her to him trying to pull him into the portal. The chain that kept him here was as straight as an arrow as he kept hold of it with his left arm, the right holding onto the rope connecting him to Rin as Sakura hanged on for dear life around his shoulders. If he hadn't Reinforced his arms, they would have been ripped off by now!

Unfortunately, something had to give, and in this case, it was the wall. The wall broke and now there was nothing anchoring them to this world. Shirou and Sakura were pulled in as well, joining Rin in whatever world she had managed to open a portal to.

Shirou's last thoughts before he entered the portal were 'I knew this was a bad idea!'

*Line Break*

Zelretch noticed something was wrong the moment Rin managed to open the portal. He sighed, "So impatient that one. Shame too, she was the most promising one in centuries. Well, her and her counterparts at least."

Zelretch shifted into the Kaleidoscope with an ease that spoke of complete mastery. There was a reason that the Second Magic only had one master, him. It was fickle, had twists and turns in it that required an unorthodox mindset. This was the part that usually caused his former apprentices to have a mental breakdown. Well, if they had managed to endure all his pranks up to this point at least. By jumping the gun, the Tohsaka had risked the lives of herself and her two companions as well.

In the Kaleidoscope, Zelretch quickly found three bright glowing cores of light. They were the souls and identities of Tohsaka Rin, Emiya Shirou and Matou Sakura. Their physical selves gone but their souls and identity intact through sheer stubbornness and luck. Apparently, Rin failed to take precautions for keeping their physical bodies intact for transition, the Kaleidoscope was no place for mortal men after all.

"There you are. Now what to do with the three of you?"

Zelretch contemplated his options. He genuinely liked the three, they were a breath of fresh air from the usual sycophants that begged to be his students. When he first met Tohsaka Rin of his dimension, she didn't come begging to be made his apprentice, she came begging for his help.

He of course knew about what Sakura went through in the Matou Mansion. Nine times out of ten, Tohsaka Sakura would be sold to Matou Zouken to be the heir of the Matou family. The torture she went through under the guise of 'training', how anyone could justify that was beyond disgusting. He would have done something about it, but he was jaded by his centuries of life and travels throughout the Kaleidoscope. If he went about helping one poor soul, he would have to do the same throughout all the worlds he travelled.

Did that make him a bastard, maybe. But you tried living for centuries, seeing the same evils repeatedly throughout time and multiple worlds. Perfect worlds didn't exist, upsetting the delicate balance that kept the multiverse spinning. It wasn't all bad, for every evil, there was good. For every dragon there would be a knight to slay it. It was a cycle that Alaya used to keep humanity strong and surviving. He wasn't about to mess with that anytime soon. He was strong, one of the most dangerous beings in the multiverse if he was being humble but facing the Will of Humanity to Survive was not on his schedule anytime soon.

That day, watching an 18-year-old girl beg him to help her sister, pleading anything, she could give him, from money to servitude, to save a victim of their father's decision. That intrigued him. Prideful Tohsaka Rin humbling herself for the sake of her sister, it was not unbelievable, but quite rare.

So, he decided to help the young woman, his price that she be his apprentice and sort of assistant managing his assets in her world. The fact that she succeeded in making a copy of his Jewelled Sword already guaranteed she would catch his attention, despite having help from that boyfriend of hers. He never specified that they couldn't ask for help after all. He even threw in a nifty tool he found on his travels for her boy toy. Never knew when you would need to stab your wounds away after all and his apprentice’s boy toy was one of those selfless types that couldn't stay out of trouble no matter what.

So here he was, wondering how to get his apprentice and her apprentices back home intact. Or should he?

"They would have to watch out for that damnable Otsutsuki clan, but otherwise it would be a good learning experience on other forms of magic and magecraft. And maybe teach her a lesson about taking on more than she can handle. It will be good for the other two as well."

Having decided, Zelretch sent the three souls on to reincarnate into a new world with their memories, abilities and sense of self intact. They would be reborn into a world of chakra and shinobi, of death and war, of clans and villages.

"Hahaha! Oh, I hope you are ready for them Otsutsuki Hagomoro, they will shake the shinobi world as only they can. Maybe deal with those pesky relatives of yours as well."

*Line Break*

In Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, three new souls would be born that year in the same month and mere days from each other.

In the Hyuga clan, a black-haired girl would be born of the Main House. The heiress of the Hyuga clan arrived in this new world screaming and crying. The clan celebrated the birth of a strong and healthy heir.

In the Nara clan, a purple haired and eyed girl would be the delight of her young parents. Her father was the clan heads younger brother and her mother was a purple haired kunoichi. Both rejoiced as a healthy young girl with her mother's colouring was born.

In a blacksmith's family, a pink haired boy with golden eyes was born. His father was a blacksmith who made the weapons that the shinobi wielded on their missions while his mother was a housewife. He was a child that would grow be a terror to his enemies and a great friend to those who he held dear. But for now, he was a light of joy for a family that had been trying for a child for some time.

The birth of these three would normally be an auspicious sign to the three families, but a year after their birth, on the Tenth of October, the Kyuubi was freed from his prison and controlled by a madman.

Two of the three would be made orphans as this signalled the beginning of hard times as Konohas Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself to seal the demon into a blond-haired boy, his own new-born son.

It was a terrible day, but all heroes experience tragedy sometime in their path. These three just experienced it earlier than most and with more to come.

**Next Update: 15 May 2020**


	2. Chapter 1

**I’d like to thank all my reviewers for your support for my story. Really, the reviews are what motivate me to do this story. The first twenty or so chapters will be like the original, with extra bits and changes added in since Sakura is part of the story as well.**

**Also, I have this idea in my head about Rin figuring out how to recreate the Servant Summoning Ritual using a mix of fuinjutsu and runes. Can you imagine the looks on her enemies faces when she summons the First Hokage or the Yellow Flash to fight for her?**

**Imagine Orochimaru’s reaction when he discovers a girl not even a third his age created a superior version of his Edo Tensai.**

**Please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors. If anyone here would like to be my Beta, please PM me.**

**Also, cross-posted on Wattpad, Spacebattles, Fanfiction.net and AO3.**

**Rewritten 22 May 2020. I changed some things that were pointed out to me by reviewers. Any more inconsistencies you can put down to this being an AU.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter One – The Sword

Sparks flew as a small child held a kunai against a grindstone, sharpening it to a razor’s edge.

Most people would cry out in shock to see a four-year-old boy sitting alone in a large forge working with dangerous equipment in order to produce weapons. But for Shirou, it was his new way of life ever since waking up in this new world.

By some coincidence, his name was still Shirou, though it took a while for him to get used to his new family name. Even after four years, the name Toko Shirou just didn’t feel right, though he did find it ironic. Sword smith, how fitting for the man who considered himself a sword.

He didn’t resent the people who gave him this new life, but they didn’t hold the same kind of place in his heart that Kiritsugu did, though that was hardly fair, since he knew Kiritsugu for much longer.

Shirou could still remember the day he gained awareness of his new life. He was around a few months old when the memories and identity of Emiya Shirou woke up and immediately wished he didn’t. Going from a fully-grown adult to an infant was not a fun experience.

*Flashback*

His eyes opened but all he could see were a couple of blurred images. He seemed to be in the hands of a giant of some kind. Why was it so hard to think?

It took him a while to realise that he was a baby and the giant was probably his mother. His eyesight was probably still developing, explaining why all he could see were blurred images. His hearing was good though, as he listened to his new mother sing a lullaby to him in what sounded to be a dialect of Japanese.

Those moments of clarity were few and far in between, being a baby and not having much energy. He seldom cried, and when he did it was because he was hungry or needed a change in diapers. Embarrassing. Somewhere, in a place beyond space and time, a certain red clad archer must be laughing his head off at his predicament.

After that, he started to piece things together. It was a slow process since his brain was still developing, making it more difficult to think, but he eventually figured out what exactly had happened. To avoid thinking about what it meant to be a baby and must grow up all over again, he focused on his memories, trying to figure out how exactly he had gotten into this mess.

Emiya Shirou, that had been his name before. He was a magus… or at least he was an apprentice magus. And he couldn’t help but think how the more traditional magi would probably find everything he was going through fascinating, as it showed the differences between the identity of the soul and one’s own cognitive limits. His memories of his last life were all in check, but he still found forming a train of logic difficult with his still developing brain. New connections had to be made. He had to reassess all his old memories. Something that he found extremely difficult to do when one had the attention span of a few months old baby.

He took a step back to his previous thought, his status as a magus.

His magus training had been a shaky one, being that he had pretty much been left alone in it up until the Holy Grail War. It was only then that he gained his first real teacher, Tohsaka Rin. The two of them had gone through a pretty literal interpretation of hell together and had emerged from it as what Shirou would consider to be close friends. Though they had been the same age, Rin was infinitely better at almost all branches of magecraft and had seen fit to instruct him from time to time, when she wasn’t too busy with her own studies. 

Rin studied under Zelretch, one of the few True Magicians, known for his control of the Kaleidoscope, or the Operation of Parallel Worlds. Yes, that was where things went wrong. Of course, he should have known.

Rin had gotten into her head that she could discover more about the true nature of the Root, the core of all existence, or the Prime Mover as some would call it, by projecting across several hundreds of worlds at the same time, taking in everything that was the same about them while rejecting everything that made them different. After all, all worlds were trying to be like the Root, and only their imperfections should differ from it.

She had roped Shirou into helping her out with the experiment. He was supposed to be her anchor to make sure she didn’t lose herself in the attempt. Seems like rather than anchoring her to their reality, he had simply been dragged through whatever gateway she had opened with her. Sakura who was in the room at the time was dragged in with them. Still didn’t explain why he was now a baby, but he must have lost his body along the way.

Shirou vaguely wondered why he wasn’t more upset about this revelation. Perhaps it was because the chemicals that cause stress were not yet in production in his infant body. Or he was even more overly optimistic that even Archer thought. More likely it was because he had made peace with himself a long time ago in order so that he could put his life on the line for the greater good.

Frankly, he was just glad that he was reincarnated as a human and not a bug. 

He was by his estimate six months old when he stayed awake for long enough to assess his situation. The first thing he did was do a ‘Structural Analysis’ on himself, one of the few branches of magecraft that he could do.

He checked himself to see what he still had. He found that his 27 magic circuits from his past life were still there. That was good news. He wouldn’t make the same mistake he did when he thought he had to use his own nerves as magic circuits, leaving his actual circuits to lay dormant. The pain from using them when he finally had them activated faded after a few months, but Rin would never let him forget about it or stop cursing Kiritsugu for his atrocious teaching skills.

But within his body, he found more than just his old magic circuits.

They were sort of like his circuits, only much wider and much more numerous. When he first scanned them, he nearly went into shock, believing that he had grown over three hundred additional high-quality circuits. But before he could celebrate, he noticed that the energy inside of them was different.

He didn’t know what exactly it was, but it was different from the Od in his magic circuits. If he compared them, he would say Od was an element, something that was pure, while this new energy seemed to be a compound of some kind, made up of two different energies. In his mind he was relating Od to iron sand while this new energy was something more akin to salt.

With the wider channels, the energy seemed harder to control, but there was so much of it and it went to virtually every part of his body, even parts where it was completely useless. He experimented with using this new energy to reinforce his body instead of his old Od and found that he could do so easily. This opened-up all kinds of possibilities in the future, as he could use all his Od into his weapons without having to waste any reinforcing his body, maximising the effectiveness of his Reality Marble.

His mother also seemed to have these different circuits, though they seemed inactive.

Shirou wondered if they were a common thing of this world or if they were restricted to a minority of bloodlines, like with the magic of his old world. More than likely, Rin would also have them and be having a field day experimenting with their limits. Sakura too, but she would be less eager to experiment due to bad experiences.

Rin always said that he looked for trouble, which was true. But Rin was the one who actively caused trouble, usually for her own amusement or to take advantage of it. He doubted she would stop just because she was a newborn child. If anything, that might make it worse. She had always been a little jealous of Ilya’s super childish appearance that let the girl get away with whatever she pleased without even having to try that hard.

Thinking about them made him remember that he and Sakura were pulled into this new world along with Rin. He could hardly search for them as a baby. He would need time, time to grow up and to get his bearings. He could only hope people were wrong about the horrors of infancy, after all he didn’t remember anything from before the Fuyuki Fire, including his memories of his childhood.

*End Flashback*

Shirou looked down at the sharpened kunai in his hand and checked the wrap on the grip. He did a quick Structural Analysis on it to check for any problems. When he found none, he placed it in a crate with several other sharpened kunai. He picked up another blunt kunai and continued.

The Toko family was a family of blacksmiths that lived in Konoha since its founding, making their living selling weapons to the shinobi who ran the village which was closer to a city in size. They had chosen their family name after their profession, regular civilians rarely having family names back then. They seemed like nice people from what he could tell interacting with them as a baby and he probably wouldn’t mind having them as parents. Sadly, fate was not a kind mistress.

Around a year after his birth, disaster struck. A giant demon fox with nine tails appeared in the village and killed hundreds.

The Toko family had all been gathered in one place for a family gathering that night. Parents, cousins, siblings, uncles, aunts and grandparents, every one of them crushed when the fox destroyed the restaurant they were gathered at. Shirou only survived because he reinforced his body, protecting himself. On that day, three years ago, he yet again became an orphan.

With no extended family stepping forward to claim him, he was shipped off to the orphanage. He didn’t stay there for long. As soon as he was able to move around independently, he would slip out to return to his family estate, a fair-sized complex with eight bedrooms and a disconnected warehouse which acted as a forge. It was less because of any connection to his new blood than it was to the memory of his old life. He supposed he wanted to fill the home with his friends like he did back during the Holy Grail War.

The orphanage was so overcrowded because of the fox demon, that no one noticed the quiet boy’s disappearance. He would go to the forge and work with the metal, using the insight provided to him by his Unlimited Blade Works, shaping weapons that he would then sell for a bit of money. Of course, all this was after the week he spent making the forge usable for a three-year-old boy with short limbs.

At first, the shopkeeper was horrified that he was working in a fully functional forge alone, but shortly after he just accepted it. It was better than what some orphans did in tough times, and the village was always in need for more blacksmiths. Shirou moved out of the orphanage at the age of three and simply took care of himself.

Shirou repeated the process of checking the sharpened kunai before placing it in the crate along dozens of sharpened kunai. “Well there’s that order finished.” He mumbled to himself as he stood up and stretched, relieving muscles from being in the same position for over an hour. “I should probably start on lunch.”

Packing away his tools, Shirou left the forge for the main house. Taking a bath after a long morning sharpening kunai, he entered the kitchen. He had all the cooking appliances and ingredients needed for lunch out and ready as he started making lunch.

Konoha was an interesting place from an architectural standpoint. Several of the older buildings were built using the Wood Release Bloodline Limit of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. It was said when he and Uchiha Madara agreed to create the first Hidden Village, the Senju Clan head built the initial village in a day, building enough housing for over ten times the number of both of their clans combined.

Of course, new buildings have since risen and were built very differently. The use of Earth Release ninjutsu combined with normal building techniques gave all the buildings a unique look he hadn’t seen before back in his old world.

Shirou peeled and chopped some potatoes and carrots. He had tried to look for his two friends as well in the village, but he could never search far. Konoha was the size of a city and a four-year-old child could only search so far. He wondered at times if they were even in the same country as him. They could be in a different village for all he knew.

As Shirou added the chopped-up potatoes and carrots into his frying pan to cook alongside the fish, a voice rang out through the house. “Something smells great! Hey kiddo, how much longer till lunch?” A scarred man said from the door next to the living room. Even though he was off duty, he still wore his headband and jonin vest.

“Only a few more minutes, Kibato-san.” Shirou called back to him.

The man was not Shirou’s housemate of any sort. He was more like a short-term renter. Most of the higher ranked shinobi that went on long missions could be out for weeks or months at a time and probably be around the village for a week of the mandatory leave for long term missions. As such, keeping their own place of residence was just a pain in the ass for those who didn’t have families or clans.

The Hokage was the one who suggested that Shirou allow those off duty shinobi to stay at the Toko house. It was a way of making money, gave Shirou some company and allowed for there to be adults pretty much always checking in on him.

Shirou enjoyed having them about, for the most part. Usually the ones who came to stay with him were pleasant enough characters. It was amazing how many of them had interesting hobbies and they were always willing to share a few stories of their missions outside the village. They were his only source of information of the world outside the village, since information regarding the rest of the world outside the village and the Land of Fire, where Konoha was located, was sparse or heavily smeared by propaganda in the public library.

Now, the only occupant of the house aside from himself was Kibato Hibaki, a 25-year-old jonin who was kind of like the perverted uncle that everyone has. He was around 175 cm tall and had dirty blond hair kept in a ponytail. He also had a scar on his face, a vertical cut over his cheek, which he got during the Third Shinobi World War. Shirou plated the cooked fish as the man helped him set the table.

“Going somewhere Pinku-chan?” Kibato asked Shirou as they ate, looking at the crate of kunai on a trolley. Shirou practically cringed at the nickname. It was always one thing that he tried to keep out of his mind, though his sometimes housemates seemed to have spotted it as his weak spot.

Toko Shirou had been born with bright pink hair. Everyday Shirou cursed his E-rank luck. He didn’t consider himself to be one of those guys who prided himself on his appearance. He was pretty sure he was unattractive and rough looking in his previous life, but to end up with bright pink hair? It stung something furious as he imagined Archer laughing at him. He could even imagine Saber holding back a giggle at the sight. Besides that, his appearance was mostly unchanged, he even had the same golden eyes as before.

“I’m just making a delivery to the Tendou shop later.” Shirou said, trying to control his reaction to the nickname.

“Really? Make sure you say hey to that Tenten girl while you’re over there. That little girls got it bad for you. Trust me I can tell. And given how she looks just like her mother there is a good chance that by the time you’re my age…” Shirou didn’t listen to the rest, having abandoned his lunch and was out of the door with the trolley before he had to hear what exactly Kibato thought he should do to a girl that was young enough to be his daughter. Shirou had a hard time thinking himself as being four years old. Most people had a hard time believing it.

Besides, he was pretty sure that Tenten viewed him more as extended family. The girl was nice and cheerful, and very interested in the weaponry Shirou worked with, but that was all. She was too young to have any romantic interests.

*Line Break*

The Tendou Shop was just a ten-minute walk from the Toko estate. It wasn’t really a shop, not to any civilians anyway, it only ever served shinobis and Academy students and was almost entirely subsidized by the central governing body of the village.

Every active duty shinobi in the village received a limited amount of new kunai and shuriken from the village armoury every month, shinobi went through those like a child went through candy and if they had to buy them themselves, they would use up most of the money they made quickly. If a shinobi wanted more or desired more exotic weapons like senbon needles or swords, they had to buy them themselves.

The Tendou Shop sold and repaired weapons for shinobi. They also sold anything a shinobi might need for their missions, from survival gear like tents and cold weather clothing to mass produced storage scrolls and explosive tags.

It was a large building, not really decorated since it didn’t need to attract customers. Everyone who needed it knew exactly where it was and what it was. They even sold storage scrolls already filled with pre-prepared supplies a shinobi might need for missions in different climates and terrain.

Shirou knew how to make the storage scrolls and had even used a few in secret. But in order to use them, you needed the ability to use chakra. He was trying to keep the number of people who knew he had access to his chakra to a minimum. Past habits told him that you should not let anyone know the cards in your hand if you could help it. Sure, most shinobi were alright people, but not all of them. The ANBU Black Ops were not people to be trusted lightly.

Besides, it would be rather hard to explain how an orphan boy from an entirely civilian family of blacksmiths learned all these things. Give it a few years and he could say he learned it from the shinobi who frequented his house, or he could join the Academy and say he learned it there. Till then, best to keep secrets. People were already questioning where he had learned to shape metal, best not to give them any ideas of what he could really do with a sword.

The moment he stepped into the Tendou Shop, pulling along his load, Tenten turned to him. The girl had been practicing throwing blunt kunai at a target set up ten metres away with her mother.

“Shirou-kun!” She shouted as she dropped the kunai, she had been about to throw in order to greet him. Behind her, her mother sighed as she picked up the dropped kunai.

Tendou Tenten was your average four-year-old, adorable. Her brown hair was tied up into two Chinese style buns on either side of her head and her large brown eyes were always full of energy. She was about his height, barely a metre tall and wore a red floral-patterned qipao.

“Good afternoon Tenten-chan. I see you’re practicing hard.” Shirou said, glancing over at the target with the trained eye of an experienced marksman. So far it seemed like most of the throws were missing, but time and practice would serve her well. It would be two years before she could enter the Academy and six years after that before she would be able to become a genin, the lowest and beginning rank of the village’s shinobi.

“Good afternoon to you as well Tsukiko-san.” Shirou greeted Tenten’s mother. Tendou Tsukiko was the splitting image of Tenten and was likely what she would look like when she grew up. At 160cm, she was about as tall as Rin was when he last saw her. She was in her early 30s and was wearing a dark green shirt and black cargo pants with a dark brown leather apron over it. She also had a nice figure, likely what Kibato was talking about earlier. She had a decent sized bust and curves in all the right places. She was rather beautiful, and it showed despite her rather dull outfit.

Shirou cursed inside the safety of his head for making that observation. Sometimes it was a pain to have the mind of an adult in a child’s body.

“Now Shirou-kun, I told you to just call me Tsukiko.” She told him as she smiled. What a polite and hardworking boy.

Tendou Tsukiko was also a retired kunoichi, having reached the rank of special jonin before retiring. Her status as a former kunoichi was evident by her toned arms and eyes that took in everything as if she was assessing her surroundings for threats. During the Third Shinobi World War, she was hit by a Lightning Release jutsu in a fight against Kumo shinobi. Her nerves were damaged and while not fatal or seriously debilitating, were enough to force her to retire. These days, she occupied her time looking after her daughter and helping her husband in his shop.

“My husband is over at the counter.” Tsukiko told him. “Why don’t you just leave the crate here and go talk to him.”

“Alright, thank you Tsukiko-sa….” She glared at him. “…Tsukiko.” He finished.

Tsukiko smiled at that and waved him off as she lectured her daughter on the proper handling of weapons. Apparently, you don’t drop kunai on the floor when you greet someone.

Shirou made his way further back into the shop where the counter was. There he found Tendou Taichi talking with a man, probably a customer.

“Ah, Shirou-kun, you’re early. You’ve brought the latest shipment?” He asked. Tendou Taichi was a tall man, standing at 180cm tall with black coloured eyes. He was in his late 30s and had muscular arms and calluses on his hands from years of working in the forge where he repaired or made weapons for the shinobi who used them. He was dressed in a simple black shirt and brown pants with a brown leather apron over them. Despite his size, he was a rather kind man who loved to dote on his daughter.

“Yes. Tsukiko told me to leave them with her.” Shirou told him.

“She finally got you to drop the suffix huh. I’ll be right with you once I’m finished with Kakashi here.” Taichi said, turning back to the other man and adopting a rather guilty look. 

Kakashi was a tall, lean shinobi who was nearly Taichi’s height and had silver hair that oriented to his left. He wore the standard jonin uniform and a mask that covered him up to his nose. The only part of his face that was uncovered was his right black coloured eye. His forehead protector was slanted, covering his left eye which wasn’t really that uncommon a sight. Shinobi losing an eye wasn’t unheard of, but Shirou had an odd feeling that there was more to it than that.

Shirou could smell mystical energies, including both magic and chakra. Rin often compared his nose to a bloodhound’s when it came to smelling magic used back in his old life. Kakashi’s energies had a strange mixture, something between an electric charge and a low burning ember, but the scents weren’t mixing properly. It was almost as if there were two people there instead of one.

“I’m sorry Kakashi, you know I’ve tried before, but it just can’t be done. I can put the pieces back together, but it won’t truly be whole. If you continue to use this, you’ll get killed one day.” Taichi forced his voice to be cold, though it was clear that he was deeply sorry.

“Yeah… I suppose you’re right.” Kakashi said as he reached out his hand and held up the hilt of a broken blade. His voice was a slight surprise, He was younger than he looked, probably only around nineteen. “I don’t even know why I still have it… should have hanged up the old thing a long time ago.”

Shirou froze the moment he saw the glint of steel. His Unlimited Blade Works reached out to the broken blade, taking every aspect of it. He could practically feel the joy coming from his Reality Marble as well as the sadness.

It was a straight-bladed tanto with a small, circular handguard. The process for the forging the steel was different from any other chakra blade that Shirou had ever seen. And its history… it was on the brink of becoming a Noble Phantasm!

“The White Light Chakra Sabre…” Shirou said, unable to help himself. His reaction earned Kakashi’s eye.

“You know of it?” He asked, sounding a little surprised.

“The weapon of Hatake Sakumo, Konoha’s White Fang. Its name comes from the white streak it leaves behind, though the name is misleading as it is a chakra blade that leaves a white streak and not a blade that leaves a white streak of chakra. The process of preparing the sand used in making the chakra blade was changed in order to mimic the sage’s senjutsu technique of capturing natural energy. It’s this energy that produces the white light, and since natural energy works in tangent to normal chakra, it is able to pierce other objects that are reinforced by chakra.” Shirou said, his mind wrapping itself around the blade.

Somewhere deep down, the boy knew he shouldn’t be talking so much, but he couldn’t help it. Even broken, it was an original sword that would have been a legend, not a copy made by the Holy Grail from the Throne of Heroes but an actual legendary weapon. Seeing such things was rare, even for someone like him, and he hadn’t seen anything of this quality since his rebirth.

Kakashi’s mask slid a bit as his jaw dropped and his visible eye widened considerably. “Oh wow… you know quite a lot about it. Any particular reason for that?”

“Huh? Oh… I…: Shirou stuttered, searching for an excuse. “Well… I admired Hatake Sakumo.” He said weakly as he recalled the man’s history through the blade. “People say he was a coward but, he did what he did in order to protect people. I think he was a hero.” Kakashi seemed to stiffen a little at Shirou’s words.

Kakashi’s eye went back to the broken blade in his hand. “A hero huh…” He mumbled. His voice was so flat that Shirou had a hard time knowing what the man was thinking. But he realized that Kakashi was the son of Hatake Sakumo. He had been given the White Light Chakra Sabre after his father went into a depression and took his own life.

“Can… can I hold it?” Shirou asked. He already knew everything there was to know about the broken blade, but he still had a desire to hold it. Kakashi looked back at him before slowly holding out the handle for Shirou to take. He could still feel the power and majesty of the short sword, the strength of the man who had been considered the equal of the Sannin. Some say had he lived; he would have been a candidate for Fourth Hokage. His heart wept at seeing it broken.

“Taichi-san is right. This blade is broken at its core. It can’t be repaired.” He said sadly. He looked up and saw the mixed feelings in Kakashi’s eye, the feelings for his father. “But… I could re-forge it.” 

“Shirou-kun, that isn’t as easy as you might think.” Taichi said as he looked down at the four-year-old boy. “This isn’t your average blade, even master smiths have difficulty making chakra weapons, and this tanto was a masterpiece of a blade. This isn’t like making steel kunai.”

“No! Shirou-kun can do it!” Tenten shouted, making her presence known as she and her mother arrived to see what the commotion was. “He’s the best in the whole village! The whole world even! If anyone can, it’s Shirou-kun!”

“Sorry buttercup, but that’s just that. Even the original maker could never manage to reproduce another blade like that one, and he was considered a one of a kind genius that only comes once every hundred years and dedicated his entire life to the art.” Taichi said, shaking his head as his daughter pouted angrily at him.

Shirou didn’t listen to the side commentary. He was only looking at Kakashi, waiting for a reply. The silver haired young man stared back at him for a few moments before shrugging. “I don’t see the harm in letting you try. I was… just going to throw the thing away anyways.” The man lied. He didn’t seem to be that good at lying. He picked up the box containing the rest of the pieces and handed them to Shirou whose face lit up as he took them.

“I’ll do everything I can to remake it as good as new.” Shirou said, not able to contain his excitement. “Your father’s blade will be made whole again.” 

**AN: I realized that most of my readers might live in a different time zone than me. I usually post my updates in the afternoon, GMT+8. So 3pm in Malaysia, where I live may be 5pm in Australia, early morning in the UK or still yesterday depending on where you are in America.**

**Also, I’m pretty sure I’m not the first to post my update schedule.**

**Next chapter our two favourite girls will be making an appearance.**

**Next Update: 22 May 2020**


	3. Chapter 2

**I changed some things in the last two chapters that were pointed out to me by reviewers. Any other inconsistencies can be attributed to this being a work of fanfiction.**

**All of you are free to comment what you find incorrect, but I may not change it if it is too major or I don’t feel like it.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 2 – The Start of a Legend

“Hmm… he’s late… later than me…” Kakashi mumbled as he sat on a stool in the Tendou shop. The silver haired shinobi had showed up his normal half an hour late for the appointed time to see what the young blacksmith had done to his sword, only to find that the boy had yet to arrive. “Should I be worried?”

“Nah, something’s probably just holding him up. Kid has a problem that he just can’t leave other people’s problems alone. He usually ends up late to things.” Taichi said with a shrug as he continued to polish an oversized sword.

“That’s right! I’m sure there is a good reason that Shirou-kun isn’t here yet! He isn’t a useless tardy-pants like you!” Tenten shouted at Kakashi, being unreasonably angry for some childish reason.

“Hey, I had a reason… I was…” Kakashi tried to defend himself, but Tenten cut him off,

“Liar! Liar, liar pants on fire!” She shouted at the high-ranking shinobi who simply deflated under the assault. Taichi glanced up from his sword before looking back down as his wife giggled at Tenten’s childish behavior from behind the cashier.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be here. Kid’s pretty mature for his age. And even though he is a genius of sorts, he has remarkably little pride. He won’t try to hide his mistakes. Once he gets here, he will give you an honest apology for wasting your time and give you back the pieces of your…” Taichi started, but his daughter cut him off.

“Shirou won’t have failed! He will have done the greatest job ever!” Tenten shouted, stomping her foot on the ground and giving a deep pout.

“Yeah, and maybe the Akimichi clan will all start dieting.” Taichi mumbled. He’d only believe it if he saw it. Up until now, Shirou had only been doing minor repair jobs and using molds to make kunai and shuriken, which was already impressive for a four-year-old. But there was a huge difference between that and forging swords, and an even greater gap between that and being a blacksmith good enough to forge actual chakra weapons of legendary status.

Before Tenten could say anything, the door opened and the boy himself came in, gasping for breath while clutching a box to his chest. “Sorry… I’m late… The market… cooler broken and…”

Taichi waved him off. “Don’t need to hear it. We know you get distracted.”

“Shirou-kun!” Tenten shouted excitedly as she ran up to him and gave him a strong hug. “I knew you would come!”

“Why…why wouldn’t I?” Shirou said confused as he looked around the room and spotted Kakashi. A wide smile spread across his face. Not the kind of smile that someone who was about to give bad news had. “Kakashi-san, I got your sword for you.”

Tenten immediately let go of Shirou so that she would be able to see the sword. Shirou put the box on the counter before opening it up and pulling out the sheathed blade. In his small hands, it looked like a full-sized sword rather than a long tactical dagger. Gasps filled the room as the four-year-old boy drew the blade out of its sheath. The shop had a few other shinobi inside it browsing over the displayed items who all stopped to gap at the white light emitted by the tanto.

The flawless metal blade seemed to glow with a strong white light, every small movement leaving a trail of white energy behind it as Shirou moved it carefully in front of him. Then, pulling out a raw iron ingot out of the box, Shirou tossed it up into the air before slashing through it with the blade, cleanly cutting the metal ingot in two as if it had been nothing but air as a long white streak came from the blade.

The sword Taichi had been polishing slipped from his fingers and fell onto his steel toed boots, crushing his foot as the piece of protective metal was driven into his toes. But the man didn’t react, he simply continued to stare at the pale blade. “No way… It’s not possible.” 

Tsukiko gaped as Shirou held the blade hilt out to an equally stunned Kakashi. She was a kenjutsu mistress and knew blades. That was a blade of a quality that was unmatched, perhaps on par with the other legendary blades like the ones belonging to the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Kakashi accepted the tanto with shaking hands, tempted to use his Sharingan to make sure that this was real and not a genjutsu. “Its… I’ve never…” The blade was as good as new. Better than Kakashi himself had ever seen it.

Even before it had first ended up in the copycat shinobi’s hands, it had seen decades of hard use and was nowhere near its peak condition. That and improper technique were the reason it broke when he used it against an Iwa jonin during the Third Shinobi World War. The blade in his hand surpassed his memories.

“I did the best I could. Some of the seals that were hidden inside the old handle will need to be redone. But the steel is about the same as when it was first forged.” Shirou said with a smile.

“Well… you did a much better job than I was expecting.” Kakashi said honestly, testing the weight of the weapon, finding it to be exactly as he remembered it and perfectly balanced. The pale white stream followed the blade no matter how he twisted it. “How much do I owe you?”

“Owe?” Shirou asked tilting his head before his eyes widened as he realized Kakashi was talking about payment. He laughed a little to himself, scratching at the back of his head. “I actually didn’t think about pay. I have no idea what this kind of job is worth. I was so wrapped up in the blade itself, everything else kind of slipped my mind.” Shirou looked at the blade again. “Just use it well and become a hero, just like your father.”

Kakashi went into a solemn silence at the mention of his father, slowly sheathing the sword, leaving it an inch from being fully sheathed for a moment so that its white light could stream out of the crack for a moment longer before sheathing it completely. “Becoming a hero is a tall order. But I suppose I could give it a try.” The silver haired said disinterestedly, already deciding to pay the boy the amount of an S-rank mission. He was still filthy rich from his inheritance as the last Hatake and all the missions he took as ANBU.

Shirou grinned until Tenten grabbed onto his sleeve and gave it a sharp pull. “Shirou-kun!” She shouted, looking him dead in the eyes with a killer pout that confused the boy. “I want one.”

“Huh?” Shirou said, not comprehending what it was that the girl wanted.

Tsukiko chuckled at them, already getting over the shock of seeing the White Light Chakra Sabre re-forged. ‘Not even at double digits and he already has girls fawning over him. The fangirls are going to eat him up when he goes to the Academy.’

“I want you to make me a sword. One just as good as that one.”

“I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it.” The shop owner said again and again as his daughter begged the young boy for a sword. “It can’t be. I just can’t…”

“I know what you mean… but shouldn’t you get that foot looked at?” Kakashi said with a raised eyebrow, glancing down at the man’s crushed toes as the boot turned a darker brown from the blood seeping into the leather.

“What?... FUCKING HELL!”

“DEAR!”

*Line Break*

Shirou eventually managed to get away from Tenten as her parents rushed to the hospital. Tsukiko apparently was still perfectly capable of picking up her husband in a bridal carry despite being half his size and run towards the hospital.

That left him to tell their adorable daughter no. He pointed out that she was not supposed to practice with real swords until she was older and that she wouldn’t need one until she was a full-fledged kunoichi. She had still forced him to make her one as a graduation present for when she did graduate from the Academy.

He hoped she would simply forget about that… What were the odds of her remembering? She was only four and that was eight years away. Besides, he would only give her a sword if Tsukiko said she could handle one.

Looking inwards, he found the chakra blade on his hill of swords, now re-forged and whole, the way it was meant to be. Kakashi had no idea that the blade now in his hands was far greater than it had ever been in life.

Shirou had used his magecraft to restore the sword. He used a paradox called the Ship of Theseus Paradox in order to maintain the identity and memory of the steel as he reshaped it. The story was based around the ship that the legendary king once sailed on, that was stored and maintained. Over time, all the wood that made it up rotted and had to be replaced. The paradox asks, after the last plank of wood has been replaced, is it truly the same ship? And if not, then at what point does it cease to be the same ship?

Through the theory, the ideal form of the blade was maintained. In the same way that iron is folded again and again to increase purity, Shirou slowly blended the idea of the sword that existed within his Unlimited Blade Works with the physical weapon until the ideal form and physical form matched. And then, at that moment, the blade transcended and became a Noble Phantasm. Shirou was torn from giving it back to Kakashi. Part of him wanted to keep the original blade for himself.

It had been a slow process, much slower than Tracing, but it was still much faster than forging the sword from scratch. The original blade took over three years to complete. And even if he had, it wouldn’t have been the same sword, not possessing the same history as the blade that had served the legendary White Fang for decades and therefore wouldn’t have become a Noble Phantasm.

Shirou was grateful to Kakashi for providing him that chance. He had never been allowed to hold onto shards of a weapon that should have been a legend. He had always believed that he could use the Ship of Theseus Paradox in order to obtain a Noble Phantasm, one that did not suffer from the inherent flaws of his Tracing. But shards of ancient legendary weapons were far too rare, and any magus who got their hands on one would guard it with their lives.

He had laid his hands on an actual Noble Phantasm back in his old life. It was when he was on a mission with Gray, Lord El-Melloi II assistant and he asked the Saber look alike nicely and explained why. She let him hold onto it for a minute in its unconcealed form. Though she kept blushing for some reason and snuck peaks at him from under her hood. Later, when they found their target, he even got to witness the lance unleash its might.

Rhongomyniad: The Lance that Shines to the Ends of the World, the Holy Lance of King Arthur. It was one of the few actual Noble Phantasms that still existed and was in the hands of magi. The other, Fragarach he had never actually seen with his own two eyes, but it was in his Reality Marble from when Archer did see it.

Anyway, the method wasn’t very practical. He would need shards of legendary weapons in order to re-forge them into true Noble Phantasms, but it was interesting and could one day be highly useful if he found himself fighting against powerful opponents, like the Kages. Taking their swords and transforming them into pseudo-divine weapons.

Shirou stopped in his thoughts about possible applications of this new method when something caught his eye.

Three people stepped out of Konoha’s Shinobi Library. Two adults and a child around his age, all three of them looked to be of the Hyuga Clan, dark brown to raven hair, plaid clothes with long sleeves, the adults having their forehead protectors on their foreheads, and their signature white, featureless eyes of their bloodline. One of the two adults, a tall man with long brown hair, was carrying a stack of around a dozen scrolls towards a coach.

None of this was all that strange. The thing that caught his eye was the young girl, or more specifically, her hair. The black hair was pulled up into twin ponytails on either side of the girl’s head, the hair was so long that it still came down to her shoulders. It was the hairstyle that Rin had worn back in their teenage years.

He remembered being a bit surprised when she dropped the hairstyle when they were both starting in the Clocktower, letting her hair fall down her back. The conversation about it was a bit of a blur though. She said something about the old hairstyle having its charms, but that it was becoming too childish for her. Shirou couldn’t exactly remember how the rest of the talk went, but it ended up with him being smacked in the head. She would have gone for his ‘sword’, but Sakura was in the room and would have disapproved of such actions.

The hairstyle was something rather iconic of Rin, and he hadn’t seen anyone else use it since he had been reborn. The age seemed about right, and she carried herself in a rather proud fashion. Shirou’s suspicions had been aroused. However, none of this was concrete evidence.

He checked the air for her Od but didn’t find it.

That wasn’t surprising. Unlike chakra channels which always seemed to be putting out at least a little energy, magic circuits didn’t waste. No self-respecting magus would let their Od leak out as they went about their daily business, so unless Rin used a spell, any spell, while he was within around three miles of him, Shirou wouldn’t be able to lock onto her. It was the reason they could go to the same school for years without even realizing that the other was a magus.

With the option of reading her magic out of the window, Shirou checked the girl’s chakra. He was immediately made even more sure than before when he got a lock onto the scent.

It was ‘average’.

Usually, when he was sensing chakra, he was getting a feel for what type of chakra they had an affinity with. Different chakras holding different scents based on their affinity. So, for something to have an ‘average’ smell meant that it held not just one or two, but all five affinities.

It was not something he had seen in any shinobi before. And with how similar chakra affinities were to elemental affinities in magic, it became another reason to believe that this girl was indeed Rin.

Among all the magi Shirou had ever met, only one had ever had all five elemental affinities, and that was Rin. Such people were often called ‘Average Ones’ and were always sought after by other magi.

The three Hyugas climbed into the coach and the horses were pressed forward, taking them up the road and towards the Hyuga compound. The clan’s compound was a large section of land within the borders of the village. It had to be given that the Hyuga clan had around a thousand members including civilians. It was far enough away from the main village, that even if Rin had used her magecraft there, he wouldn’t have been able to detect it. It had been so long without him detecting her magecraft, that he had assumed she had been born in a different village. He felt like an idiot for not looking more.

The reborn swordsman started running on the direction the coach was going, following the scent of chakra. It was about time for their four years separation to come to an end.

Man, Rin was going to be pissed that he took so long. And even more so when she found out that he hadn’t found Sakura yet.

*Line Break*

Danzo was quickly giving orders to his ROOT units to try and stop the spread of rumors, though he worried that it would be a lost cause. It had taken less than an hour for news to spread of the return of the White Fang’s sword to its former glory.

The old shinobi didn’t waste time questioning how this had happened or where the child had come by the knowledge of how to do it. The only question was what he needed to do.

A blacksmith that was able to create swords on that level was invaluable to the village. He could easily remember when Kirigakure was at its height. The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, most of them were hardly special as shinobi went, but their blades pressed them into a whole new level. In the hands of a skilled master, a sword like that could raise an individual who only had as much skill as your average chunin and let them hold their own against even a high ranking jonin.

If one took the seven legendary swords Kirigakure possessed out of the equation, they would drop from being perhaps one of the most powerful village to a joke.

If word got out to the other nations that a genius blacksmith had been born, one who could forge swords of legends at the age of four years old, then assassins and kidnappers would flock to him in order to kill the boy or kidnap him for their own use. Either way, they would ensure that the boy wouldn’t be able to reach his full potential and produce his masterpiece, a weapon that would no doubt cement their village’s position as the greatest village for years to come or steal that for themselves.

It had come as a pleasant surprise to Danzo to find that the Hokage had already taken steps to ensure the boy’s safety and give the child the chance to practice his art. Sarutobi Hiruzen had not only declared himself to be the boy’s guardian, letting him continue to live at his forge but had also convinced the child to turn his home into a hotel for off duty shinobi. There was not a single day where at least one high ranking and skilled shinobi wasn’t watching over the boy, and since it wasn’t counted as a mission, there was not the usual attention drawn by such a heavy guard detail.

Perhaps his old friend hadn’t lost as much of his edge as he thought, if he had already noticed the boy’s importance to the village.

However, the boy’s talents were being wasted. Before re-forging the White Light Chakra Sabre, he had been only using his skills to mass produce kunai and shuriken, only doing the odd repair on more advanced weapons from time to time.

Perhaps this was all part of a cover while he performed his more advanced training in secret. But he was still a wasted resource if the village didn’t use him properly.

While the boy might not be shinobi material like Uchiha Itachi, the influence his swords could bring would last over generations. Making him arguably more valuable than even the Uchiha genius.

Danzo was already devising ways to make commissions from the boy in order to encourage the advancement of his skills, and to empower himself further as well. The old man would have to make this his top project. 

*Line Break*

Nara Shikaku groaned as he finally returned home. This whole day was troublesome. Somehow, a four-year-old boy managed to do the impossible and re-forged Hatake Sakumo’s broken tanto and rumors started to spread about the White Fang’s sword being made whole again.

Naturally, the Hokage called in Kakashi to clarify the rumors and when he showed them the re-forged tanto, white light blinding them as he unsheathed it, his day just got infinitely more troublesome.

Yamanaka Inoichi, as head of Konoha’s Intelligence Division and he as Jonin Commander had to smother the truth somehow. Too little too late as far as he was concerned. From their investigation, the rumor started from when other shinobi who were in the Tendou shop saw the re-forged White Light Chakra Sabre and started spreading the word.

At least the shop owner himself had the wise idea and kept his mouth shut about it, though that might have more to do with his wife being a former kunoichi and knowing that this would put a target on the boy’s head.

After a long day helping Inoichi stop the spread of the truth by spreading even more outlandish rumors and ordering the ones who first saw the re-forged tanto and spread the word to keep their traps shut, he finally got to go home. The odds were that until Kakashi used the blade in combat against enemy shinobi, the news would remain in Konoha. He couldn’t use the damn blade for his ANBU missions anyway since it was so distinctive and ANBU was all about being unseen and unheard.

“I’m home!” Shikaku called out as he opened the door to the Nara clan’s head house. Unlike his Hyuga and Uchiha counterparts, his house was more modest but could still comfortably house ten or so people if necessary. He didn’t even have servants and did the housework himself with his family.

“Welcome home!” a violet haired girl and a black-haired boy with his hair in a pineapple styled ponytail replied. His dear niece, Nara Sakura was playing shogi with his three-year-old son in the living room.

Shikaku’s mood raised considerably at seeing his niece and son. Nara Sakura was orphaned when both her parents died during the Kyuubi attack. Her only remaining relatives were the Nara clan and her mother’s then 13-year-old sister, Uzuki Yugao, a newly minted ANBU agent.

There was no way she could look after her year-old niece by herself, so she left her to him as the girl’s paternal uncle to raise alongside his own son. She visited regularly when she could and Shikaku made it clear to the young ANBU agent that his door was always open if she needed a place to stay.

Nara Sakura was the darling of the Nara clan. Her soft-spoken manner and kind demeanor endeared her to many in the clan and the others in the Akimichi and Yamanaka. She was their little princess and Shikamaru’s sister as far as he and his wife were concerned. There wasn’t anyone in the clan who wouldn’t do anything for her if she asked. She also had his and his two teammates children following their ‘Sakura-nee-chan’ like ducklings following their mother.

Inoichi often lamented about how unfair that his little princess was so demanding of him compared to Sakura-chan when they had their weekly night out at the nearby pub. Choza and he just smiled along with him as they listened to their friend go on about how easy he and Choza had it. Sakura-chan was a sweet little princess, Shikamaru-kun was his father in miniature, meaning that he napped whenever he had the chance, preferably in his nee-chan’s lap somewhere in the Nara clan forest. Choji-kun never kicked up a fuss about anything and was a sweet little boy who loved snacks. Ino-chan on the other hand, was a bossy little thing who had mastered the art of getting her daddy to give her anything she wants. It wasn’t his or Choza’s fault that Inoichi was weak against Ino-chan’s Puppy Dog Eyes no Jutsu. Though he had a feeling that if Sakura-chan ever turned those eyes on him, he would cave immediately. 

Sakura looked him over. “Hard day oji-san?”

“Yeah,” Shikaku answered as he took off his sandals and sat on the sofa and looked at the shogi board. Hmm, it would seem Sakura would win in seven moves unless Shikamaru moved his gold general.

Yoshino walked into the living room. “Busy day?” She always knew somehow when he was late because he was lazy or because he was busy.

“Like you wouldn’t believe. Some kid no older than Sakura-chan managed to re-forge Hatake Sakumo’s White Light Chakra Sabre and some chunin who were in the same shop saw it and started spreading the word.”

“Should you be telling us this?” Shikamaru asked, grumbling as his sister defeated him again. That would put their score at 10-7 in her favour.

“No point hiding it. Too many people know now and at best we can keep the secret confined to Konoha.”

“Well, there’s leftovers in the fridge. I’ll go heat it up for you and get you some sake dear.” Yoshino and Shikaku left for the kitchen to get him a late dinner.

“Why are you smiling nee-chan?” Shikamaru asked. Sakura did in fact have a smile on her face.

“No reason Maru-chan.” Shikamaru grumbled at the childish nickname his sister gave him. It was bad enough when Yugao-oba-san called him that. “Whatever.” He went upstairs to his room, time for bed.

Sakura was still smiling as Shikamaru went to bed. In here mind, there was only one person who could have re-forged a legendary sword at such a young age. ‘I found you senpai!’

**AN: My new semester is starting up in June. All online courses and it may interfere in my updating.**

**Next Update – 29 May 2020**


	4. Chapter 3

**Decided to give writing longer chapters a try, so I merged two chapters from the original in this one big chapter that's over 9k words long. Hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 3 – Hyuuga Rin

Shirou stood in the middle of a large wooded area that was a fair distance away from the main path leading up to the Hyuuga clan compound, pondering what the best course of action was. It was not as though he could just walk up the front gate and ask to see Rin. First, that may not even be her name. He did not know if it was a fluke or not that he had the same name as his last life, but he would bet good money that Rin's master had a hand in it. Second, from what Shirou had heard from a kunoichi who stayed at his house after a long mission with a Hyuuga clan member, the Hyuuga clan were not known for accepting visitors. The woman said a lot of other nasty things about them but Shirou chose not to focus on those.

He was not even sure if the girl really was Rin. He would have to check and see if it was her somehow, and for that, he would have to sneak in. A job that seemed rather daunting as he slowly took stock of the compound's defences.

The Hyuuga clan compound was more like a small village within the actual village. It had to be since including their civilian members the Hyuuga clan numbered close to a thousand. They were one of the largest clans in the village currently, rivalled only by the Uchiha in the number of active-duty members who were shinobi.

The compound was well defended. He could make out five men stationed at the main entrance, along with dozens of sentries that patrolled the compound. All with the Hyuuga clans prized Byakugan, a sort of Mystic Eye that granted them various abilities, including telescopic sight, 360° vision, X-ray vision and who knew what else. They were not exactly forthcoming about the full scope of its abilities, though one of the shinobi he talked to swore that they could read minds with it as well.

Those eyes would have earned a jewel rank easily back in his old world, maybe even a rainbow rank. Not something to take lightly. If he was not observing them from a kilometre away by Reinforcing his eyes, he would have been spotted by now. And that was not even considering the seals and physical traps that were scattered around the compound. Talk about overkill, who were they trying to keep out? An Assassin class Servant? Sneaking in broad daylight would be nothing short of suicidal, which was exactly what he was planning. Nobody ever said he had good sense.

'I wish Rin was out here instead of in there, she could tell me how to bust in,' Shirou thought with a sigh. He was not the best at stealth, never really needed to be. Who needs stealth when you can pick off targets from kilometres away by firing arrows that travel at Mach speeds?

Besides, stealth was not an option against a magus's detection methods. Nor was it useful if one was slaughtering the undead. Though that Dead Apostle never saw that modified Caladbolg II coming as he fired it from 4 km away.

Shirou went through his arsenal in his head, looking for anything that might aid him in his endeavour. He, after all, had an entire world full of more than just blades, though they made up the vast majority of his Reality Marble. From Mystic Codes to Noble Phantasms, he searched for what could aid him best when it came to stealth.

'… No that will not work… Carnwennan? Too high cost and it might not be what I need… Maybe… this might work.'

Shirou eventually settled for the Holy Shroud of Martin. The Holy Shroud, once belonging to Kotomine Kirei had the ability to keep his energies in while rejecting outside influence. The red coat would get the job done without overly draining him.

It would still be costly. Shields and armour were always more costly for him to trace compared to bladed weapons. A Holy Shroud was not just some piece of enchanted fabric. It was comparable to a low-rank Noble Phantasm in complexity. Then he would also have to expend the cost of tailoring it to the size of his new body. He could do it, just like when he changed his swords into arrows, but it was harder for him since the Shroud was not a blade, to begin with.

Altogether, it would probably take a good chunk of his available Od to pull it off, and that was without Reinforcing it, which hopefully would not become a problem.

If he had been in his old world, he would have rejected the idea by now. Maintaining the trace would deplete his reserves of Od within minutes. In this world, well things were quite different.

Through some experimenting, Shirou discovered that the presence of Gaia was much weaker in this world. That did not have much effect at all on the cost of his tracing since that was done within the bounds of his Reality Marble. However, the amount of power required to maintain his creations was less than a tenth of what it used to be.

He had risked tracing Kanshou, a relatively low-cost Noble Phantasm and one of his go-to weapon and left it with enough energy to last an hour back in his old world. 24 hours later and it was still there without a hint of degradation.

That was a game-changer for him. While some of the higher-ranked Noble Phantasms could not be cranked out like they were a bargain sale, even an hour with a monster of a weapon like Caliburn was nothing to scoff at.

"Might as well get to work," Shirou said, taking a breath and closing his eyes as he prepared himself mentally to start the trace.

**'I am the bone of my sword.'**

**'Steel is my body and fire is my blood.'**

The first two lines of his aria echoed in his head, helping him focus. The idea of the cloth armour did not mesh well with the words, but in the end, Shirou still got a hold of the idea and started to create and alter it.

"Trace On," he said under his breath, his magic circuits humming to life as they brought forth the modified Holy Shroud. He felt it weighing on him and he opened his eyes, taking stock of what he had managed to create.

Since he had to alter the Shroud anyways, Shirou went ahead and made some modifications. It now resembled a trench coat with a hood on it to make sure that his head was also hidden from the Byakugan, and he decided to change the colour to black. Unimaginative, he knew but you could never go wrong with black. Besides, Rin and Sakura were getting concerned that his fashion choices were starting to be similar to Archer's back then, might as well change it up a bit.

"Looks like it worked. Guess it's time to test it out." Shirou said to himself. Reinforcing his legs with chakra, he ran the distance from his observing spot to the compound. Timing it just right and praying that the guards did not have their Byakugan activated, he slipped in just as a guard walked away. Avoiding the traps with all the skills he possessed, he made his way to where he smelled 'Rin'. He gave a little prayer that the Holy Shroud really would obscure him from their eyes as he made his way to what appeared to be the clan head's mansion, you could not miss it, it was the biggest house here and just screamed 'I am important and powerful'. He hoped that his new trench coat worked, otherwise he was about to get into a very awkward position.

* * *

Hyuuga Hakaku moved through the main training hall of the Hyuuga compound and into the sakura garden. The proud man held himself tall as he went, his jaw set, his white featureless eyes gazed steadily. His long brown hair pulled into a ponytail hardly stirred from his controlled movements. He was a cookie-cutter warrior of the Hyuuga clan's main house.

Hakaku was a man on a mission, one given to him by the former head of the clan and current member of the Hyuuga Elder Council. He was to train the man's grandchildren in the clan's Gentle Fist Taijutsu style, showing them how to make use out of the family's eyes and fighting style. As a member of the Hyuuga clan main family, such a duty was among the highest honour he could have received.

At least, it would be, if it was not for who his student was.

"Rin-sama, your Taijutsu training shall be starting soon. Please go prepare yourself," he said as he looked down at the small girl who sat on a rock bench near the edge of the pond. She had a scroll opened on her lap and three reference books spread out around her. It was nothing short of remarkable just how much the girl read. Most four-year-olds would not even be capable of reading, much less staying in one spot for such a long time.

"Hm… is it that time already?" Hyuuga Rin asked, her voice rather disinterested. She did not even bother to look up from her scroll. "Very well, I will join you after I am finished with this scroll. Please do not wait for me."

The older Hyuuga twitched slightly at being simply brushed off by the child. Dealing with Iwa nin during the last war was easier than dealing with the clan heiress. Mostly because any disagreements with them were easily resolved by violence. "Rin-sama, need I remind you of your agreement with your lord father? You…"

"You need not remind me of anything. I remember, and I will join you for Taijutsu training after I am finished with this scroll," Rin said, purposefully interrupting the man, acting as though he did not matter. "If you have a problem, then go ahead and try to take it up with Otou-sama again. I know how well that will turn out for you, but you never seem to learn."

It was not long before the man was doing just that, stomping away in frustration in a decidedly non-Hyuuga like manner, grumbling under his breath about how the girl's father would put her in her place.

"Baka," the girl said with a shake of the head. "Honestly, this clan is full of idiots."

Hyuuga Rin, formerly Tohsaka Rin, did not exactly like the clan she had been reborn into.

It was not for the reasons most sensible people from her old world would have disapproved of them. Things like inbreeding, using curse marks to enslave over 80% of the clan in the name of keeping family secrets, or the way that some of the more closed-minded members locked themselves away from the rest of the world. Frankly, all those things were not too uncommon among magi. If anything, the measures taken to safeguard the Byakugan would be considered too lax by magi standards.

Nor did she particularly dislike her family itself. Her father and grandfather both had a stick up their arses, but that was to be expected for any head of an important family. Her mother was nice, reminding her of her previous mother before her unfortunate circumstances, though she was a little too quick to try to please her grandfather for Rin's liking. And her little sister… well… she completely adored her cute little Hinata-chan. Every muscle in her heart always pulled tight for the little girl. She was just so cute, and with her timid features, gentle voice, and her dark blue hair. The girl reminded her so much of Sakura that if it were not for her lack of magic circuits or memories, she would have sworn that she was Sakura reborn. It made her want to protect the girl at all costs.

No, the thing that annoyed her about her new clan was something completely different. "Give them a pair of nearly divine Mystic Eyes, peerless control of the gateways for the mystic energy inside of their body, a highly advanced energy transferring technique, and enough mystic energy to possibly make even Lorelei Barthomeloi raise an eyebrow and what do they do with it? Punch things." She practically spat out the last words in disgust. "What a complete waste of time and energy."

Rin had learned the Gentle Fist quickly, but after learning the energy transferring part of it, she did not care to continue with the different forms and attack patterns of the Hyuuga clan style. She would admit that it was a very well put together style and learning hand to hand combat was important for her safety as the heiress of a noble clan, but it simply seemed like a waste of time when there was so much else for her to do. So many things for her to research, knowledge for her to apply. Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Fuinjutsu, their relations to mystics and the theories of Thaumaturgy. She did not want to waste her time with the clan's stupid martial values, and she did not care about their views on 'fate'.

Her current project was bugging her, the need for Kekkai Genkai, bloodline limit traits to mould two different elemental chakras together.

Reaching down to the ground around her, she picked up a leaf in each hand. Then, concentrating to transform the nature of her chakra, she sent it into the leaves.

The leaf in her right hand started to turn brown before flaking away into dust, a sign of strong earth type chakra, while the leaf in her left hand started to gather dew and became wet from her water type chakra. But even after creating both chakras at the same time and performing the needed hand signs, she still could not recreate Senju Hashirama's Wood Release chakra.

She had already mastered various jutsus of all five elements, mostly C-ranked ones but with a couple of the less chakra intensive B-ranked jutsus as well. With her knowledge of magecraft, it was a simple matter. It was quite amazing how similar Ninjutsu and magecraft were yet how different. She practically laughed to herself when she discovered the Academy level ninjutsu, the Transformation and Clone Jutsu, were both just forms of Projection with extremely similar theories and executions.

However, unlike magecraft, Ninjutsu's effectiveness was not affected by how many practitioners there were. A fireball made via Ninjutsu was just as powerful if ten people knew how to do it or a hundred. This also meant that her power in magecraft just shot up exponentially, since if Shirou and Sakura were here with her, there were only three practitioners of magecraft in the entire world. Even a third-rate magus like Shirou could not be considered a third rate since there was nothing to compare it to.

She cackled when she realized that, making her clansmen watch her warily. However, none of that was relevant to her current problem. She still had not managed to combine two chakra natures to make a new one. She had tried with other elements as well. Fire and Wind for Scorch Release, Wind and Water for Ice Release, Earth and Fire for Lave Release, etc. None produced the desired results.

"What is it about bloodline users that let them combine two elements? The fact that the converging of elements happens during the hand signs while holding half the elements in each hand would imply that the merging happens outside the body. At that stage, nothing physically present inside of the body should factor in. So, there must be something different about the chakra before them," Rin closed her eyes in defeat and sighed. "I do not get it. I would understand if it simply cost more to produce since it lies outside of my Origin, but I should still be able to do it… I need more information and better research materials."

Rin nearly jumped as she heard a small laugh. "You have not changed at all." She looked over in the direction of the voice, instinctively activation her Byakugan to search for the intruder, but found nothing. Not until a small boy about her age dressed in a black coat dropped out of one of the trees, even then, she still could not see any of the chakra coils underneath the cloth. The boy pulled off his hood and gave her a familiar grin. "It has been a while, Rin."

"Sh… Shirou?" Rin said. At first, the boy thought that her stutter had come from surprise. Then he noticed her holding her gut, and small giggles burst out of her. "Oh, Root Shirou, what's up with your hair?! Could you not decide between red and white and just compromised?" Shirou's smile sank fast as she started to tease him within seconds of their reunion.

"You have not changed at all,"' Shirou repeated gloomily, a dark cloud over his head. He really should have expected that. Was four years really, long enough to dull his memories of what she was like?

But her laughter stopped and Shirou felt her arms thrown around him in a hug. One that made him stumble back a few steps as he struggled not to fall over. "I missed you, Shirou," she said, startling the boy.

"Yeah, I missed you too, Rin," he replied, hugging her back.

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi wondered when it had happened. When the pride of his life and the brightest hope for the clan's future had turned into his biggest headache. His eldest child, Rin, had never been ordinary, and he had watched her with great pride as she developed in leaps and bounds.

Her intelligence was beyond anything the clan had ever heard of. She spoke her first words when she was only five months old. By the time she was a year old, she was speaking in complete sentences. No one was sure who taught her how to read, but by the time she was two she had already studied most of the clan's scrolls. He remembered coming home one day to find that she had somehow broken into the family vault and was reading secrets that were meant for the eyes of the clan head only.

And it was not just in language that her incredible intelligence showed itself. Her ability to use chakra quickly became apparent when she was just three years old and was found using her Byakugan without instruction. She mastered the basic clone technique not long after and was freely shaping chakra. A year later and she had mastered all five elemental chakra natures, making her the youngest in history to ever achieve such a thing just shy of four years old, beating the next youngest, the Sandaime Hokage himself by over twenty years.

That was not even mentioning the extra chakra coils the girl had been born with. The seventy extra coils seemed concentrated around her left arm, though they were present throughout her body. The energy inside of them was most definitely not chakra, similar to pure Yang chakra though different from even that. There was nothing in the clan records of anything like it before. They might not have been able to hold as much energy as her standard set, but what they did hold was a mystery to him.

Her cousin, Neji was a genius. Rin was a miracle. It seemed as though the Hyuuga clan was truly blessed with the most promising heiress in its history but then, she turned three and time had come for her to start training in the clan's Taijutsu style, the entire clan practically had a heart attack.

"Why would I waste my time with that?"

It was not as though she did not have a talent for the Gentle Fist. The few times they had managed to get her to practice, she had shown a good deal of talent in the art. She simply had no interest in it. She denounced the clan's traditional fighting style, passed on from generation to generation since before even the Warring States Era, as a waste of her talents.

At one point, her first instructor had tried to force her to practice, only to have a Genjutsu cast upon him that he could not break out of before she decided to test her newly acquired mastery of Fire Release Ninjutsu on him, singeing him in various places. It took the man several months to recover and he was too scared to even approach the small girl again. Hiashi had no idea where she even learned Genjutsu, their clan had no one proficient in it.

As time passed, it became more and more apparent that they had no control over the child. She did as she pleased and believed what she wanted. Even war-hardened veterans were brought low before a child that was not even officially a genin yet. They had to resort to bribery in order to get her to go to her Taijutsu lessons.

When Uchiha Itachi had made genin at the age of seven, Hiashi's father had suggested that they should give the four-year-old Rin the genin test, in order to show the other clans, the true talent of the Hyuuga clan. But Rin simply refused to take the test. She said she would have her childhood before becoming a kunoichi, and that she would not take the exam until she was twelve, even though she could probably beat every genin in the village without even using her Byakugan once. That secretly relieved him, as he knew this world was not kind to child prodigies.

And even more problems lay on the horizon in the shape of her attachment to her little sister, Hinata. Ever since the second child was born, Rin doted on her little sister. Every morning she would be found having snuck into Hinata's room in the night and would be hugging the smaller girl in her sleep, refusing to let go. He should know, since he was attacked by Rin when he tried to separate them, all without the girl waking up. She spent much of her 'valuable' time simply playing with Hinata and telling her stories, teaching her things like how to read and write or how to play simple games along with their mother. If she ever found anyone being mean to the timid girl, she would exact vengeance upon them of the cruel and unusual variety. It often got ugly.

This was worrying since clan traditions were set so that only the one who would become the next head of the clan would remain a part of the main family, while the other would be considered a part of the branch family and be given the Caged Bird Seal.

With Rin's natural talent and potential, there was no doubt that she would be the next clan head after him even if it was not for her little sister's too timid nature and lack of talent making her unfit. Hiashi shuddered to think what his eldest would do when the time came to place the seal on 'her' Hinata.

It was not like Hiashi did not sympathize. He did not enjoy it when his twin was branded and the rift it drove between them for years before they reconciled. He hated the thought of Hinata being branded even more so. The girl was as kind and gentle as her mother, who was a civilian member of the clan. But this was the fate of those born into the clan. Even as clan head, Hiashi was powerless against it, he could not work against fate. He ignored the whisper in his mind that said he was merely unwilling to go against centuries of tradition.

At the moment, Hakaku, his daughter's third instructor and son of the third family in the main branch, was complaining about Rin's lack of enthusiasm for the clan ways. The man had been appointed the job by Hiashi's father out of trust for the man's loyalty to the clan and his outstanding service during the Third Shinobi World War. But the man's pride in the clan was leading to problems with the dismissive heiress.

They had already given in to her demands to take her to the library and checked out chunnin level scrolls for her in exchange for her to participate in her Taijutsu training, but it seemed that even now she was trying to push at the boundary of the agreement. She would decide when and where she fulfilled her end of the bargain. The girl was a strong-willed one.

"I will speak to her," Hiashi said, resigning himself to the fact that there was very little he could do.

Getting up from his office, he walked alongside Hakaku towards where they already knew his daughter to be. Closing his eyes, he tried to come up with an argument that would convince the strong-spirited girl that it was important to practice her Taijutsu. He had yet to succeed, not after nearly a dozen attempts. The girl had a way with words that would awe a shrewd businessman or a career politician. Perhaps if he just focused on the importance of fulfilling her end of the agreement instead of talking about Taijutsu directly.

His thoughts stopped however as he heard laughter coming from the garden. His daughter rarely seemed to laugh. She smiled often enough, especially when she was with her little sister, but even as a baby she rarely laughed. He cherished the moments when she would smile for him, they were so rare that he could count them on both hands and still have fingers left over.

"What?! How did that boy get in here?!" Hakaku said in shock. Hiashi looked himself to find that there was indeed a boy in the garden, sitting next to his daughter on the stone bench. The pink-haired child looked slightly depressed as his daughter must have been laughing at his expense. Though there was a sort of smile on his face. "Don't worry. I'll get the guards to…"

"No need," Hiashi cut him off. "Leave them be. We will simply rearrange the Taijutsu lesson."

Hakaku looked shocked, "But sir, your father…"

"Is not the head of this clan. I am. Just go about your normal business," Hiashi said, dismissing the man. Then he turned his attention back to the boy with his daughter. He looked like an ordinary child. At first, the only thing remarkable about him seemed to be that he was in a location that he should not have been, but as Hiashi activated his Byakugan, he saw them.

Along with an active chakra network that no civilian child should have, there were extra chakra coils containing the same mysterious energy that his daughter had, They were not as large or numerous as his daughter's, and with the way that they lined up perfectly with the chakra coils around his central nerves, they were nearly invisible, even to his eyes, but they were still there.

Two children, the same age with these never before seen coils of energy, somehow drawn to each other. "Could this also be fate?" Hiashi asked himself, preparing to find out who this boy was.

* * *

"It wasn't that funny..." Shirou said just a little downcast as his old friend laughed openly at him. After they got greetings out of the way, they started catching up, exchanging short stories about what they had been up too.

Rin had asked if he knew where Sakura was and got depressed when he answered in the negative. To cheer her up, he told her about the time he played host to a four-person group of shinobi who were throwing a party of sorts to celebrate that they all made it back alive.

That was a grave mistake despite it getting Rin to laugh. The four of them all got impressively drunk and two of the female ones... Shirou cursed it. He cursed the fact that he was now in what girls would consider an adorable child's body. He cursed the existence of alcohol. He cursed his E-ranked luck. And most of all, he cursed his own stupidity for sharing the story with Rin. What the hell was he thinking?

"I can't help it! You meet the weirdest people!" She laughed, holding onto her sides as she rolled backwards. They were sitting down next to each other underneath the sakura trees.

"What, you mean like you?" He grumbled, only to be punished by an open palm being shoved straight into his side. A small burst of chakra invaded his body and he cringed with the extreme pain.

"What was that, Shirou?" Rin said in her 'you have now irritated me' voice.

"No... nothing at all, Rin-chan," Shirou said, twitching as he gripped his side.

He should not have dismissed the Holy Shroud. It would have protected him from such a cheap shot. Rin had told him to put it away since she did not want other members of her clan seeing that he had such an easy method of evading their eyes. Damn her logic making him drop his guard.

She claimed that she could tell anyone who saw him to 'go to hell', since she was the next head of the clan and had near-absolute power over everyone, save for her father and grandfather. So, no one would dare try to throw out anyone she said could stay, and even if they would question where they had met, they would not ask her and probably wouldn't ask Shirou directly either. They would probably try to dig up that information themselves instead.

After a few seconds of Shirou resetting his own body to recover from the attack, he was caught off guard by Rin's next question. "Shirou... are you... angry with me?"

Shirou looked over at the girl on near shock, half believing that the to his system had caused him to start hearing things. But Rin's expression was rather uncomfortable. Her white eyes were carefully not looking at him, her shoulders were a bit tensed and she shifted her legs uncomfortably.

"Rin, you hit me all the time, it's not that big of a deal," The way she was acting did not really match up with Shirou's picture of Rin.

"That's not what I meant!" Rin snapped before turning a little meek again. "I meant... about us being sent to another world. Being forced to go through childhood again. We died, Shirou. We died because of my experiment. And now Sakura is still missing! She must hate me even more now!"

"Uh... huh..." Shirou said looking away into the distance. A slight pause went by as he lost himself in thought before Rin was on him again. He found himself gasping for air as he was pulled into a headlock by the short-fused girl.

"That's it!? We died and all you can say about it is 'huh'! Just how stupid are you, Shirou!?" Rin growled at him as she did her best to pull his head from his shoulders.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Shirou cried, trying to get loose of the deathlock. "I just didn't really think about it. I was more worried about how to find you and Sakura than how we got here." Rin glared at him but let him go so that he could get back his breath. Rubbing the back of his neck, he added, "Besides, after everything we've been through together when have I ever managed to stay mad at you?"

The reincarnated girl's eyes widened, and a soft blush came to her cheeks at Shirou's words. She looked down and a soft smile spread across her face. "Shirou..." She said softly.

Sadly, Shirou had to ruin the moment. "You alright? I didn't say something wrong, again did I?" Shirou said, his voice and confused eyes saying everything.

Rin twitched before she gave a heavy sigh. "No Shirou. I had just forgotten how monumentally dense you are. Thank you for reminding me that your skull is harder than steel." She said, leaving Shirou even more confused, and now on guard for any kind of attack that she might make in her anger.

But there was no anger in it. It was just a simple truth. Regardless of how many women Emiya Shirou mistakenly charmed with his big heart, determination and impossible dreams, he had never once noticed any of it.

Rin personally blamed his lack of parenting. He had never actually seen a relationship, functioning or otherwise. He also never watched any TV, so he didn't learn anything there either. Even if that source tended to be more perverted, it would have been at least something. And now in his second life, he again was orphaned and grew up alone, surrounded by unmarried mercenary killers.

Sometimes she wondered if the boy even knew where babies came from. Maybe she should slip him some book on the subject. It would probably bring quite the blush to his face. The thought of that little prank brought a smile to her face and cheered her up quite a bit. Though she realized she would have a hard time getting the book herself, given that the Hyuuga Clan never let her leave the grounds alone. They also didn't give her any money she could spend herself, so if she needed materials for her magecraft, she had to convince them as to why she needed it. Something that wasn't easy.

But that wouldn't be as much of a problem now. "Hey, Shirou. I've been needing a few things for my magecraft. Would you mind going on a few errands for me?" Rin said sweetly, giving the boy a charming smile.

Shirou's face fell. He knew that this was coming. He took up both blacksmithing and being a sort of landlord in order to gather money for magecraft expenses. The problem was that Rin's style of magecraft was very... very expensive. But it was as expensive as it was powerful and useful. So, the aged four years old boy bit down the bullet and simply asked, "What do you need? And please note that I'm not exactly able to access my family accounts until my 16th birthday or I become a genin."

"You're such a good boy, Shirou." Rin giggled but then she changed her body language. Her legs uncrossed, and she shifted her shoulders in a sort of double-take. It was a signal. Someone had crossed the edge of the Bounded Field she had set up to give them a bit of privacy.

It had only been a weak one. A simple ward meant to prevent anyone from listening in, but now that it was crossed, they needed to guard their tongues.

"Hello, Otou-sama. It is a nice evening, don't you agree?" Rin said, standing up to greet the man.

Shirou's first impressions of Hyuuga Hiashi were mostly about the way he walked. It was so strange when compared to the various shinobi he had encountered. Most of them walked around with an air of being totally relaxed even though they were prepared to counter an attack at any given moment. Hiashi on the other had seemed tighter than a bowstring as he walked with a noble step. This man was dangerous, and he knew it, and he knew that everyone else knew it. No need for misdirection. He would fool no one.

His face was hard, both cheekbones and jawline being extremely distinct, and his white eyes were cold and focused. Though he seemed to share all the more basic traits like skin, hair and eye colour with Rin, the father and daughter looked absolutely nothing alike. She must have taken after her mother, or else her appearance must have been more heavily influenced by her soul or magecraft than her genetics because this man wasn't winning any beauty contests.

"That it is. It is good to see you taking full advantage of it by playing outside." Hiashi said. Even though it was just simple conversation, his voice was still that of a stern father figure grudgingly giving his approval. It seemed almost weird though he could detect a hint of warmth in his tone. "Rin, are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Rin smiled she knew what her father was after. A name to allow him to begin digging around to try to explain his daughter's connection to the outside. They would give it to him, but no reason she couldn't have some fun first.

"I think you misunderstand, Otou-sama," Rin said, puffing out her chest proudly. A sign that Shirou knew meant the Rin was about to be Rin. "Shirou-chan isn't my friend, he's my pet." She said with a completely steady voice while gesturing at the boy.

Hiashi's jaw dropped a little as the stern man couldn't believe what his daughter had just said. Shirou, unfortunately, could very much believe that she had said such a thing and was giving her an indignant look. It was a heavy hit to his pride.

Seeing his face, the girl pushed it a little harder. "Is something the matter, Shirou-chan." She even dragged out the 'chan'.

Shirou knew there was no recovery, so he simply counter-attacked. "No, nothing is wrong. I am merely lamenting my misfortune of having such a cruel and unfair master." Shirou said, letting his face drop and playing the part.

Hearing the familiar line, Rin burst into a fit of laughter. She laughed so hard that she fell over and ended up holding her sides as tears rolled down her cheeks. It was even more shocking to Hiashi than the girl's earlier declaration of ownership of the boy.

Shirou smirked. He had won that particular battle. But he turned to the confused Hiashi. "Sorry. My name is Toko Shirou. Please take care of me." Shirou said, giving a little bow.

Hiashi accepted the rather formal greeting in the middle of the strange burst of chaos. 'What is with kids these days?' Hiashi only returned the greeting with a nod before turning to his daughter. "I have decided to postpone your Taijutsu training until tomorrow. Please, try to spend your afternoon productively."

"Ye...s of course, Otou-sama..." Rin said, trying to control her giggles. "Shirou-chan, how about I introduce you to my imouto, Hinata." The boy didn't put up any resistance as she grabbed onto his arm and pulled him away.

Hiashi watched them go and saw the Fuinjutsu barrier that had surrounded them go down, letting noise travel freely again. He had no idea where Rin had learned to make these barriers, and she wouldn't give him a straight answer even if he asked. Hiashi's father had once tried to forbid the girl from using them because of the dangers involved in any mistakes, but she simply ignored him. She rarely ever listened to the elder. It made several white eyes widen when she called the elder a 'cowardly old fool', straight to the old man's face.

"Toko Shirou." He mumbled to himself. He didn't know of any shinobi clan called Toko, but that hardly mattered. He would need to find out everything he could about this boy. His habits, his family history, his ideals, and most importantly, how he had met his daughter. Maybe if he found out something about these strange chakra paths, he could divine just why it was that his eldest daughter was so rebellious.

The first place to stop would be the Hokage's office in order to request the background information. He could lay out the groundwork and delegate the task from there. Reminding himself to place a man on tailing the boy back to his home in the off chance that he had been given a fake name, he moved quickly, disappearing in a flurry of leaves.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen had called for all records on Toko Shirou's family history and was personally going over it with Kakashi, trying to make sense of what had happened.

When he had found out that the boy had moved into his old family home and was using the forge to make kunai and shuriken, he had been a little worried about possible accidents, but more sympathetic.

Little Shirou's entire family had been killed in the demon's attack and none of his distant relatives would take him in. It seemed as though the boy had been trying to keep the only connection he had to his family alive. It wasn't uncommon for orphans, even if the boy was a bit young. So Hiruzen had positioned off duty shinobi to watch him and take care of any fires that might pop up.

Sure, it had been strange for a boy to start working as a blacksmith at the age of three, but the work he had been doing had mostly dealt with moulds and was hardly complex. Kakashi had become a full-fledged shinobi at the age of five, performing B-ranked jutsu at the age of six. Things much more advance and personally dangerous than pouring hot metal into a mould and sharpening it. Even if the child had cut off his finger, it would hardly have been the end of his life. There were even medical ninjutsu which would have been able to reattach the finger if something like that had ever happened.

Perhaps being around so many geniuses had dulled the old man's perspective a bit, but even he had been dumbfounded when he heard that the boy had actually re-forged the White Light Chakra Sabre. Such a thing shouldn't have been possible, and Hiruzen was searching everywhere to try to find an explanation. Paperwork could wait. He hated the stuff anyways. The other Hokage were all lucky to die young so that they could get away from the mess.

The village leader didn't even look up when he heard Hiashi request entry. He had ordered Shikaku and Inoichi to stop the rumours, but he knew it was too little too late. That horse had left the barn and the best they could do was to keep the news confined to the village.

He gave a quick nod. "It's a surprise to have the Hyuuga's head come here in person. How long has it been? Three or four months, and even then, it was a clone rather than you yourself," asked Hiruzen sounding a bit like a bitter grandfather who wondered why his grandkids didn't come to visit more often.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama. Though I would think that our positions keep us too busy for idle visits." Hiashi said with a short bow as he entered the room.

He didn't even spare Kakashi a glance, nor did he react to the short glare from Kakashi for being so clearly brushed off as not noteworthy. 'Stupid rich prick.'

"That's the exact reason why I need people to stop by. I'm too old for this job." Hiruzen said with a shake of the head. "What do you want Hiashi?" The Hokage said, not bothering with formalities. Why be formal when he practically wiped the boy's ass growing up.

"I'd like to request access to some of the village's old records involving a 'Toko' family, in relation to a Toko Shirou," Hiashi said clearly.

"You too?" Hiruzen snorted, to the Hyuuga's surprise. "Get in line. ANBU and three other clans are already on my ass about it. Danzo has already requested that I give him exclusive control to matters involving the boy and restrict all intelligence about his history. Of course, I told him that I would discuss the matter with whoever I damn well please and that he should keep his nose out of civilian business. Still, he's doing his best to go behind my back and silence any rumours. Not to any great success considering you're here. How long is it going to be until the Uchiha's are knocking on my door as well?"

"Hokage-sama... I do not know about the rumours in which you speak," Hiashi admitted slowly after weighing the pros and cons of pretending like he knew what the old man was on about.

"Huh? You don't know? Then what are you asking about him for?" Hiruzen asked before sighing and sliding back in his chair. "If you're going to be asking around about the boy you are going to find out anyway. Kakashi, show him."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said before grabbing onto the hilt of a blade on his back. Hiashi had to half shield his Byakugan eyes, even without them fully activated, the chakra surrounding the blade was intense, so intense that it would be visible to the normal eye. The swirling white light was like a miniature sun in the white eyes of the Hyuuga's eyes.

"What... is that chakra?" Hiashi said in slight awe.

"This is the White Light Chakra Sabre," Kakashi said, a little smugly as he flourished the blade before putting it back in its sheath.

"Earlier today, Shirou-kun returned the blade to Kakashi after somehow re-forging it to its former glory. The shopkeeper had been so surprised that he dropped a sword on his foot and was rushed to the hospital. While he was gone, a few chunnin who were in the shop at the time blabbed it out to anyone who would listen and now everyone wants the boy. Mostly two smaller clans who are claiming him by blood, though it is four times removed," the Hokage said with an angry grunt. "Shameless fools. They didn't give a damn about the kid when he was just some orphan."

"That boy... created that!?" Hiashi said, shaking his head in disbelief. "How?"

"Who knows," the Hokage admitted with a shrug. "But if that isn't the reason why you are asking about the boy, then enlighten me as to why you are asking. I'll consider sharing with you what I got if you share what you know."

It was an indirect way of ordering Hiashi to tell him what his purpose was. The clan head could refuse, but it would put him in an awkward position. Which was why the Third did it. These kinds of games were the essence of life for people like them.

"I found the boy earlier today inside of the Hyuuga garden, playing with my daughter. None of the guards saw him come in and no traps there tripped. He just suddenly appeared," Hiashi admitted, hoping that Hiruzen would let him in on more information. "The way they acted around each other; I would guess that they have been meeting for months without anyone in my clan noticing."

"Hm... is that so?" the Hokage said, closing his eyes. "That doesn't match up with our current hypothesis, but our current guesses don't make much sense anyway."

"May I ask what those guesses are?" Hiashi asked, starting to wonder if he should grab a chair.

The Hokage looked to Kakashi and gestured for him to speak.

The white-haired shinobi sighed and started reporting. "Three weeks ago, I meet Toko Shirou at one of the shinobi supplies shops when I was looking to have my father's blade repaired. I'm not sure how, but Toko knew things. He knew secrets about the blade that the maker and my father took to their graves. Things that I thought only I knew." Kakashi said holding the sheathed blade out in front of himself. "He also recounted the history of my father. Something I am almost certain he had never heard before. And then offered to fix the blade. Claiming that he wanted to see it whole. And for some reason, I let him try. The rest is history."

"I'm guessing that the boy has some sort of unrecorded or new Kekkei Genkai, perhaps a Doujutsu that provides him with the knowledge of the history of items he sees," Hiruzen said, scratching at his chin. "The odds of such a thing are nearly zero, but it is the only explanation we can think of. Kakashi said that he knew about the special traits of the tanto before he touched it, so vision is the most likely catalyst. However, that wouldn't explain how he got past your guards' eyes."

"Knowledge that can't be explained," Hiashi mumbled closing his eyes and frowning.

"You have any possible explanations? Don't suppose he somehow gained the secrets of the White Light Chakra Sabre from that miniature Tsunade of yours?" Hiruzen said. He often compared Rin to Tsunade, both being out of control genius clan heiresses, with extremely powerful attachments to their younger siblings. Though the Hyuuga heir was far more talented at a young age than even the now legendary Tsunade had been.

The Sandaime Hokage wished that the girl would be brought around more often. He liked talking to the girl. It was a pleasant interruption from his office life. Kind of like Naruto's visits, though with less written complaints accompanying it. The old man had the sneaking suspicion he had been labelled as a bad influence on the girl, just because he supported her curiosity in all things and taught her anything she asked.

The clan was trying to control her and shape her into their ideal heir, but the more they tried the more she resisted. Some of her resistance came in the form of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu that the girl seemed to have made up herself, earning her a reputation for being a bit sadistic and the nickname 'the Byakugan Yao', the white-eyed witch. A nickname that amused the girl to no end.

Hiashi was quiet for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Forgive me Hokage-sama, but I do not believe I can be of any help." He said. "Since you are already looking into the boy's past, I will keep my clan out of your hair. I am sorry for taking up your time."

"Hm... well, don't be a stranger," The Hokage said, as the clan head dismissed himself.

"Both children have these strange chakra channels, and both possess knowledge that should be beyond them," Hiashi said when he was well out of range of any ears. He could not tell anyone outside of the clan about Rin's condition. If the extra chakra paths somehow provided the ability to gain such skills and knowledge, then who knows what some people might do to obtain it. "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I trust you with my life, but I must think of my daughter first."

* * *

Omake (Not necessarily canon)

How Rin Expects Shirou to Pay for her Research Materials

"Now, Emiya-kun," Rin began after Hiashi left and she was sure no one was listening in on them. They were currently in Rin's bedroom after visiting her cute little sister. To be safe, they were now conversing in English. "I need some materials for my research and as I am unable to freely leave my clan compound, though that's more due to having to look after Hinata-chan than anyone stopping me, you'll have to get them for me."

Shirou looked at his long-time friend warily. He knew that look in her eyes. It was the same as when she signed them up for a Dead Apostle Hunt in the middle of the Gobi Desert because she needed the cash to buy a jewel she wanted and Luvia already had.

"What kind of materials will you need?" Shirou decided to bite the bullet. He immediately regretted it.

Rin began listing out everything she would like him to get her. Many of them rare and expensive ingredients that would cost as much as a decent-sized house, per item.

Where the hell was he supposed to find the slime of a centuries-old slug anyway?

*Elsewhere in a gambling house*

"ACHOO!" a blonde-haired woman with a bust that people still could not believe was natural sneezed.

She shrugged. Someone must have been thinking about her. It had better not be her white-haired pervert of a teammate.

She drank some sake as she continued to lose at the game she was playing, badly.

*With our protagonists*

"Uhh… Tohsaka," Shirou reverted to his old habits when talking to her. "How am I supposed to pay for all of that? Despite my work as a blacksmith, I am not exactly rich…"

Rin let out a familiar cackle. It was the one she did whenever she figured out a way to get ludicrous amounts of money within a short time frame.

Those methods usually involved getting them into trouble, so he was understandably worried.

"Shirou, Shirou," Rin said as if the answer was obvious. "Do you know what a Bingo Book is?"

"That's the book where all missing-nin are listed along with shinobi the village considers dangerous enough to keep an eye on."

"Yes. And along with information regarding the shinobi in question, there is also their bounty listed, several with bounties high enough to fund me for years!"

Shirou deadpanned at her. "So, your idea for me to get funds for your research is to hunt down some of the most dangerous people this world has ever seen, as a four-year-old?"

Shirou's tone made it clear what he thought about that idea.

"Come on, it's not much different from what you used to do anyway!"

"I was an adult then, fully grown with a good grasp of my abilities and sometimes good support for when the mission goes sideways, as they often do. No."

Shirou said that last bit with finality. He would actually like to live long enough to reach adulthood this time as well.

Rin pouted cutely and looked at him with puppy dog eyes that somehow worked despite her having white featureless eyes. But Shirou was a veteran of dealing with women who wanted him to do what they wanted. He remained steadfast in the face of overwhelming cuteness. Ilia had tried the same as well when she was still alive, and he only caved half the time. Rin was nowhere near Ilia's level of cuteness.

Rin accepted defeat. "Fine, I guess we could make use of our world's extensive amount of literature to make money. Maybe the food too…"

Rin began to think up ideas that were actually reasonable, much to his relief. Writing novels that were totally not ripped off from another author was perfectly acceptable. Besides, he was pretty sure that the copyright laws did not extend to other dimensions. Not that the lawyers could find them anyway.

* * *

**Now that the chapters will be longer, and my new semester starting up, I can't guarantee to update once a week. I'll try, but I need to get a feel of the new online lectures and classes first. As for the omake, if people like them I'll try to add them in for future chapters.**

**Anyway, next one's an original chapter starring our favourite kouhai!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A little late I know. I wrote this from scratch, completely original from Dyslexic’s version. I hope this meets the high expectations that you all have.**

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**Also, before anyone says anything about Sakura’s abilities, note that I just made up something after reading through her fandom wiki page for a few minutes and decided that I liked it. Until the third Heaven’s Feel movie comes out, I have no idea what the full scope of her powers and limitations are.**

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**I am aware that some of them are because she became the vessel for a god, but I don’t care anymore.**

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**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 4 – Nara Sakura

Shirou was currently in the market, buying food for his house. He sighed, it had been three days since his reunion with Rin and so far, things seem to be looking up. If you ignored the fact that she roped him into being her errand boy, again. He now had to figure out how to secure more funds to buy the materials she needed for her experiments. Even if he accepted more commissions for weapons, and there were a lot of them since news spread of him re-forging the White Light Chakra Sabre, that might not be enough.

Kakashi had already banked in a million ryo into his accounts, despite his protests, which was equivalent to paying him for an S-ranked mission. Not that he could access the money right now. His inheritance was currently held in trust by the village until he was either sixteen or a genin, with him receiving a monthly stipend which he supplemented via his work as a blacksmith and renting out rooms in his house for shinobi.

He had long since mastered the art of balancing a budget before he even got into high school back in his old life, and his supplementary income paid for his magecraft experiments. Unfortunately, Rin’s magecraft was quite expensive. But it was equally as powerful as it was expensive so it would be an expense well spent.

Rin’s clan was rich, one of the richest in the village. The Hyuuga clan owned shares in various businesses throughout the Land of Fire and ran a very successful hair care product business. The wives of noble lords and Daimyos bought their product, that was how popular their products were.

Unfortunately, the finances of the clan and the finances of her family itself were separate. Part of the income earned by a member of the clan earned either from shinobi missions or business was given to the clan as a whole, not the clan head himself. Hiashi, as clan head merely controlled the clan’s finances, their wealth did not belong to him. That money was for the use of the clan as a whole, buying gear for their shinobi, medicine, maintaining the compound’s buildings, etc. Not just for the clan head’s family.

As the line that ruled the clan, Rin’s family was in of itself, quite rich. However, Rin did not have access to it and was not given any money to spend for herself. Anything she wanted to buy herself, she would have to ask her father to buy. And that would raise questions she did not want her father to ask. She took the secrecy of her research seriously after all.

So far, he and Rin had thought up various ways to earn more money, after he had vetoed her idea of hunting down missing-nin and cashing in on their bounties. That could wait until they were actual shinobi. What was she thinking, that someone who betrayed their nation and village would just roll over and die because she wanted to cash in on their bounty to buy a shiny rare jewel? Though knowing his luck, once they become official shinobi, and they would be shinobi since that was the only way to be worth anything in this village, they would encounter a missing-nin or two within a few months of entering service. His luck was just that bad.

One of the ways to make money they had thought up was to take advantage of their world’s extensive amount of culture and literature. The Elemental Nations had a culture similar to his old world’s East Asia, mainly Japanese, with some sprinkling of Korean and Chinese. And that was about it. Sure, from stories his occasional housemates told him, the different nations had their own unique cultures that differed from the Land of Fire’s, but it was still mostly the same. Not quite like the difference between Europe and East Asia, more like the difference between Hokkaido and Tokyo. The social structure was the same, food culture had few variations depending on the region, and literature was rather limited.

He had found tales and historical figures that had startling similarities to his old home country, though the characters and stories were different. The tale of Kiyohime was one example. Instead of a daughter of a wealthy family, Kiyohime was an Uchiha who fell in love with a wandering samurai instead of a monk. Apparently, her turning into a giant dragon was due to him being killed by her clansmen who found out and disapproved of their love, instead of her love being rejected. She then proceeded to kill off the last of the Uchiha hit squad that survived the fight with the samurai then burned half the clan to death before escaping to who knows where. A true story apparently.

Then there was Minamoto no Yoshitsune, or Ushiwakamaru. Here she was a female samurai from Land of Iron who eventually became the General of the Land of Iron, the first female samurai to hold the title. In his old world, history remembered her as a man despite her katana in his Reality Marble telling him that ‘he’ was a ‘she’. How anyone could mistake her gender in that revealing armour was a mystery to him. Arturia at least had the excuse of Merlin using his magic to hide her gender.

It was eerie how the history and people of this new world seemed to mimic Japan’s. There was the leader of Amegakure, Hanzo the Salamander of the Hattori clan who seemed to be this world’s analogue for the famous samurai of the Sengoku era. He was a monster of a shinobi who personally slaughtered an entire platoon of Konoha shinobi during the Second Shinobi World War, sparing only three.

Then there was the Legendary Sannin, whose names and abilities were coincidentally similar to the Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya. A toad sage named Jiraiya, the slug princess Senju Tsunade, and the traitor Orochimaru. It was like someone read the Japanese folklore and adapted it for this world. 

Technological development in this world was interesting. Weapons technology seemed to not have advanced at all. Gun powder was never invented so, even though his house had electricity and appliances not too different from what he had in Fuyuki, the world’s warriors were still using swords and bows in combat. Chakra probably made up for it.

Regarding his funding problem, their idea was to adapt some of their world’s literature for the Elemental Nations. And the food culture as well. Apparently, nobody here had ever heard or eaten a cake before. Chocolate was commonly sold as bars or drinks but not used in desserts. He wondered how well cookbooks on Western cuisine would sell. He would also have to set up false identities and new bank accounts for the money. For that, he would need Rin’s help. Despite his adopted father’s former occupation, he did not exactly pass on the tricks of the trade before his untimely passing.

Shirou examined the vegetables on front of him and haggled with the stall owner over the price like an experienced housewife. Eventually, both found a price they could agree on and Shirou paid up and left with fresh cabbage and carrots.

Shirou paused as he caught a familiar scent in the air. It was ‘hollow’ and held a hint of darkness. Almost dropping his bags, Shirou looked around, hoping to catch sight of who he thought it was. His luck must have improved since it was only three days since his reunion with Rin.

Jumping on top of a roof by using a man’s stall as a step, much to said stall owner’s chagrin, Shirou looked down at the busy marketplace. The people there were not even surprised that a four-year-old just jumped several metres into the air with no effort. Citizens of shinobi villages had a high tolerance for weird things happening.

There, with Reinforced eyes, at the edge of the market, Shirou spotted two purple-haired girls just leaving. One was older, around seventeen by his estimate holding the hand of the younger girl, sisters maybe, who looked around his age. Both carried several bags of groceries.

He was too far to make out features and the two were facing away from him. But his sense of ‘smell’ for mystical energies was rarely wrong and no one else he knew had ‘hollow’ as an Element. But he did not want to get his hopes up. Purple hair was surprisingly common in this village. He had played host to five so far and had seen several others possessing the same hair colour in this village. Chakra, like the magical energy of his old world, had an interesting effect on genetics.

Forgetting about his recently bought items, Shirou followed after the two purple-haired girls from a safe distance. If he was right, then he would have some great news to tell Rin when he next visited her. Now if only he could figure out how to approach the two without looking like a creepy four-year-old stalker.

*Line Break*

Nara Sakura enjoyed her new life. When she first became aware of her rebirth, she was confused and scared. She remembered enough of her final moments when her sister’s experiment ended up dragging her and senpai into the portal with her to realize what had likely happened to her. The giant-sized man holding her calling himself her otou-san was a good clue as well.

She was hopeful then, that her new life would be nothing like her old one. That her parents would not abandon her. When she was a year-old, both her parents went and got themselves killed defending the village against a giant demon fox. She just could not catch a break, could she?

She was awake and well aware of the conversation between her aunt from her mother’s side and her uncle from her father’s side. Her aunt was maybe fourteen while her uncle was a grown man. It was obvious who her new guardian would be.

She did not keep her hopes up, believing that with her luck, history would repeat itself and her uncle would turn out to be a terrible person. She was pleasantly surprised.

She had a loving family, adopted though she may be, an aunt who loved her with all her heart and always visited when she was on break from missions, an uncle who treated her like his own daughter along with his wife, their son who looked up to her as his big sister along with his friends.

Yes, compared to the childhood of Matou Sakura, the now Nara Sakura felt blessed in comparison. She wondered if this was karma for all the suffering she endured in her past life. She always did have an interest in Hinduism despite officially being of the Shinto faith.

****

**‘I’m bored.’**

No, she was not crazy for having a voice in her head. That was just a side effect from all the abuse she endured and once containing the blackened remnants of a Holy Grail. Dark Sakura was born of the influence of Angra Mainyu, who had corrupted the Greater Grail since the end of the Third Holy Grail War, and all her pent-up dark emotions and thoughts.

According to Zelretch as he worked to free her from both the Crest Worms and the Grail pieces, the only reason their Holy Grail War did not end up with Angra Mainyu and Dark Sakura attempting to destroy the world was because Shirou asked her not to come to his house during the war. Talk about close calls.

Either way, despite Zelretch’s best efforts, she was still stuck with Dark Sakura in her head and various abilities that being the pseudo host of All the World’s Evils gave her.

****

**‘Hey! I thought you loved me!’** Dark Sakura said in her head.

‘You know what I mean,’ Sakura thought back as she rolled her eyes.

Dark Sakura was thankfully, still her but darker and more expressive. She did not cause any trouble and helped her keep what abilities she still retained from Angra Mainyu in check.

She had mixed feelings about those abilities. On one hand, they were the result of Zouken’s machinations and could have caused the end of the world. On the other hand, they gave her a tremendous boost in power when compared to other magi.

Despite no longer containing the grail pieces nor having accessed Akasha, she still ended up with a vast amount of magical energy in her reserves. Most of which she had nearly no control over, which was where Dark Sakura came in.

****

**‘Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. What would you ever do without little old me?’**

‘Probably live a normal life and marry senpai once we graduated from high school,’ She shot back easily.

****

**‘I wish that would happen too. I’m still bored,’** Dark Sakura said.

Sakura sighed. Her darker half had a point. She was bored as well. Her uncle was at work and Shikamaru-kun was playing over at Chouji’s house, leaving her with Yoshino-oba-san at home. All the chores were done, and Yoshino would not let her use the kitchen until she was older. If only senpai was here, he would let her use his kitchen. 

‘Maybe I should go look for senpai. I’m sure that the boy oji-san was talking about a few days ago was him,’ Sakura thinks.

****

**‘That’s a great idea! We have to make sure no skank of a woman gets to him first!’** Dark Sakura agreed. Shirou was theirs and no one else’s! But she supposed they could maybe share with their sister. Maybe.

Sakura moped a bit. Senpai was hopelessly oblivious at how he attracted women like honey attracted bees. His combination of good looks, great personality and godlike cooking made him the perfect man to many women. How he never noticed she and nee-san would never know.

****

**‘Hey, don’t be so down. We’ll just jump him and kiss him senseless again! No way he can mistake that! And if any girls think they can get in our way!’**

Sakura let out a dark aura, thinking about what she would do to anyone who was woman enough to get between her and senpai! It was bad enough having to compete with her sister, but throw in Luvia, Gray and senpai’s legion of admirers and suddenly there’s a problem.

Suddenly, the door opened and in stepped a young woman. She was seventeen years old with straight, purple hair reaching down to her waist, warm brown eyes, and a shade of red lipstick. She was dressed in civilian clothing but that did not mean anything when one was a kunoichi. For all anyone who looked at her knew, she could have been hiding knives in her pockets, which she was.

This was Uzuki Yugao, her aunt from her mother’s side. She was often busy, doing classified work that from what Sakura could piece together meant that she was part of some black ops group in the village. Because of her work and young age when Sakura was orphaned, she could not look after her, so she left her upbringing to her brother-in-law and his clan. She still visited whenever she was not off at work though, like right now.

“Oba-chan!” Sakura went to give her aunt a hug, which she returned.

“Ooof! Sakura-chan, you’re getting so big now! I was just gone for a month and now look at you!”

Yoshino walked into the living room from the kitchen and saw the two. “Oh, Yugao-chan! I didn’t know you were back already.”

“Just got back last night and bunked over at HQ for the night. I came to see my favourite little niece once it was morning and I was done with my mission report.”

Sakura giggled. “I’m your only niece oba-chan.”

“If it isn’t too much trouble, could you take Sakura-chan to the market to buy some groceries? I know you just got back but we’re low on groceries and I know Sakura-chan is bored with Shikamaru-kun over at Chouji’s house,” Yoshino asked, waving a list of groceries she needed.

“Sure, a day out with my cute little niece sounds great doesn’t it, Sakura-chan?”

“OK, can we get some dango while we’re there?”

“Sure. Let’s go!”

Yugao accepted the list from Yoshino and left the house with Sakura. They went to the market not too far from the Nara clan compound and bought everything on the list plus dango.

“So, Sakura-chan, made any new friends while I was gone?” Yugao asked as they left the market.

“Not really. You know I don’t usually leave the compound and when I do it’s to be with Shikamaru-kun when he visits his friends in the Akimichi and Yamanaka compounds,” Sakura answered as she ate her dango.

That was true. Most of the people Sakura knew in this new life were from the three allied clans. She never really left the house if she could and preferred to help Yoshino with the housework.

Inoichi once commented that she was the most un-Nara like Nara he ever knew. Most Naras, male and female, hated work. Oh, they trained, normally during the hours of dawn and dusk, when their shadow manipulation techniques were at their strongest, but getting a Nara to work usually required bribery of the strategic game kind where said Nara proceeds to school their opponents as if they were playing against five-year-olds, even if said Nara was five years old themselves.

Sakura was the exact opposite. She readily helped anyone who asked and often did so without any prompting. She also had unusually large reserved for a Nara, who were not known for large reserves like say the Hyuuga, Uchiha or Senju.

Sakura experimented with her abilities when she found the time to be alone. Her old life’s abilities seemed to have meshed well with her Nara ones. Her shadows were unlike anything the clan had ever seen, not that they were aware that she was really just doing what she did with her shadow tendrils in her past life.

She had experimented with her chakra as well, having found a few books in her uncle’s office regarding it. After some trial and error, one Nara Sakura had officially created a new form of shadow manipulation that was unrecorded in the clan’s history.

Really, if the clan did not consider pride to be ‘troublesome’, they would have considered announcing her as a prodigy by now.

Fortunately for her, the Nara clan was well aware of the fate that awaited prodigies so often had their children hold back when in the Academy.

Naras were geniuses, due to the higher concentration of Yin chakra they were born with to use their shadow techniques. It meant that their physical strength took longer to develop but their minds matured and worked faster than others. 

Sakura decided to change the subject. “Besides, when are you going to bring my new uncle to meet me?”

Yugao choked on her dango. “Who told you that!” Yugao was red-faced as she recovered.

Sakura cheekily answered, “Well, you came back yesterday but didn’t come home immediately. You said you bunked at your workplace, but I know that isn’t true since you once told me you hated the barracks. Then this morning, you smelled of using a man’s shampoo and soap, and not the one you usually use since it smells different. Oh, and your reaction earlier just confirmed everything for me.”

Yugao sighed. She, a hardcore ANBU agent, able to stare some of the toughest bastards in this world in the eye without flinching, bested by her four-year-old niece. “If there was ever any doubt that you were a Nara, they're gone now.”

Sakura giggled. “So, who is it? Is it that kenjutsu teacher of yours? Hayate was it? Ooh, having a relationship with your sensei. Oba-chan is so naughty!”

Normally, Sakura would not be so open, teasing her aunt like this. However, the years she spent with her nee-san and senpai have been good to her and she became more open.

“Yes, it’s my kenjutsu sensei, Gekko Hayate. We’re trying to keep it quiet so please keep it to yourself.”

“Only if you bring him to meet me! I need to make sure he’s good enough for my oba-chan!”

****

**‘And if he isn’t, scare him away in plausibly deniable ways!’**

‘That too,’ Sakura agreed with her dark half. If he hurt her, well her shadows ability to consume people was a great way to dispose of evidence.

“Alright, alright. Let’s get home and give Yoshino-san her groceries.” Yugao left out the fact that she felt as if they were being watched, but she could not pinpoint where their watcher was and wanted to get to safety as soon as possible.

Contrary to popular belief that the civilians and less experienced shinobi subscribed to, Konoha was not as secure as they would believe. Oh, there were safeguards and patrols, but the village had been infiltrated before.

The two left for the Nara compound as their watcher looked on from afar.

*Line Break*

‘Yup, definitely Sakura,’ Shirou thought as he watched the two purple-haired girls leave. He had trailed after the two and managed to get a good look at their faces. The younger one looked exactly like how Sakura looked at a young age from the pictures he had seen in the Tohsaka Manor, just with purple hair and eyes instead of looking like a miniature Rin.

The older one was definitely a kunoichi. The way she subtly searched her surroundings indicated that she knew he was observing them. She had not found him yet since he was observing them from a kilometre away and he doubted that she could see that far or was a sensor.

Chakra could be used like Od to Reinforce the body, but it had limitations as well. Put too much chakra or Od and you might just cause your muscles or organs to give out. He had seen gruesome images from when that happened. Not pretty. And the stronger you already are, the more you can safely reinforce your body.

He straddled the line between life and death quite often when Reinforcing himself. He took it to the very edge of his limits. Any more and he would kill himself. No sane person would willingly risk himself for some enhancements when you could just design some Mystic Codes to do the same. He did not have that luxury starting out and even when Rin became his teacher and sort of quartermaster when it came to Mystic Codes, he continued Reinforcing himself to near-suicidal limits when in combat.

Besides, he doubted that she knew how to Reinforce her eyes. Reinforcing organs were always riskier than doing so to muscles. You overdo it with muscles you go to the hospital for a few days or weeks as the medics fix you up. You mess up with your organs you might just die. Shinobi regularly reinforced their muscles and senses with chakra, but eyesight was not one of them. Something about eyeballs literally popping out or some other gruesome tale.

He doubted that she was a sensor either, or at least did not have the range needed to spot him from this distance. He was about a kilometre or so from them, most natural sensors had a range in the hundreds of metres and some talented ones in the kilometres, or so that one sensor he played host to said. You could train yourself to sense chakra signatures, but the range was often limited to a few dozen metres around you. Good for spotting ambushes, not so good for tracking targets.

Shirou observed from his perch as the two made their way to the Nara compound. Shirou frowned, he would have to infiltrate another shinobi clan compound. Of course, the girls could not have made it easy for him. Damn his E-rank luck.

Shirou reviewed what he knew of the Nara clan from the stories his guests told him. They could manipulate shadows for various purposes. They could force you to mimic their movements if ensnarled by their shadows or even kill you by solidifying their shadows as sharp tendrils or hands to strangle you. And they were also undoubtedly almost all naturally born strategists and tacticians.

Shirou doubted that they were as lazy as people said they were. It was likely a mask they used to make others underestimate them. And being lazy but brilliant had its advantages. They would come up with a plan for the best results using minimum effort. The best kind of plan, right up there with using overwhelming firepower to achieve your goals.

Shirou frowned. He would have to plan this carefully. He got lucky with Rin he might not be so with Sakura. Major clans like the Hyuugas and Naras had great influence in this village. If he was not careful, they could make his life difficult even if the Hokage decided to protect him.

He would have to come back later after he took his forgotten groceries back home. In his mind, a plan was already taking form as he took in the layout of the Nara compound from where he was.

*Line Break*

“Shikamaru-kun, does that cloud look like a bunny to you?” Sakura asked her little brother.

The two of them were spending the afternoon cloud watching on a hill in the Nara clan forest. They did this every afternoon as sibling bonding time, along with some games after dinner before bedtime.

“Looks like a deer to me,” Shikamaru answered after taking a look at it with half-opened eyes. He wanted to take a nap before his mother inevitably called him home to do chores. Troublesome. Why couldn’t his kaa-chan be like Sakura-nee-chan? She never gave him work to do.

In his overdeveloped three-year-old mind, he had already decided that his nee-chan was the least troublesome woman in existence and thus his favourite. She was not like Ino, who was a bossy girl and never stopped talking, or his kaa-chan who seemed to always have something for him to do and tolerated no delays. His numerous aunties in the Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka clans just liked to coo over him and his friends over how cute they were and never left them alone. Nee-chan just let him sleep in her lap when they were cloud watching and soothingly stroked his hair.

He already had his life planned out. He would become a shinobi, as expected from the next head of the clan, advance no further than chunnin, retire from the field sometime in his twenties, marry a woman who was not troublesome and maybe have a child or two. And pawn off raising the brats to his nee-chan. Yes, Nara Shikamaru had the next two decades of his life planned out at the age of three. Such was the way of the Nara male. Too bad that Nara males had a tendency for falling for females of the troublesome kind and thus ruining their life plans so painstakingly planned from childhood. 

Sakura just smiled as Shikamaru dozed off in her lap. She cherished moments like this where they could be children and forget that in a few years, she would be off to the Academy and learning to be a child soldier. She had accepted the fact easily enough, what with the cultural difference between her two lives. She had no plans to graduate early, wanting to hold on to her childhood as long as possible.

****

**‘Besides, we would wipe the floor with those chibi-shinobis anyway!’**

Sakura mentally shrugged. She was not wrong. Her shadows could even take out several experienced shinobi with little effort, as her uncles found out when they annoyed her a bit too much and her darker-self decided to retaliate. They were fine, a few moments covered in utter darkness never hurt anybody. She could use some work on her Taijutsu and Bukitjutsu though, having never really focused on fighting in her past life.

“Shikamaru! It’s time to feed the deer! Get over here and don’t even think about having Sakura do it for you!” Yoshino yelled from their home. Considering that the house was around a kilometre or so from where they were, that was a remarkable achievement and a skill all those who married into the clan learned quickly to motivate their significant others.

****

**‘How does she do that? Is it a jutsu?’**

‘No, I think it’s a skill people develop to deal with lazy Naras,’ Sakura theorized. Her senpai and nee-san did not need much to get them working since all three of them shared the housework and were generally hard-working people, if in different areas of interest. So, she never saw the need to be loud, just kindly ask and one of them would usually get to it.

Shikamaru grumbled and buried his head deeper in her lap. Sakura just smiled and nudged him awake. “You should go now. You don’t want to make your kaa-san annoyed at you do you?”

Shikamaru groaned and muttered the Nara clan’s customary ‘troublesome’. But he did get up and start to move towards their house where his mother was no doubt already waiting with a bucket of feed for the deer.

Sakura smiled at her little brother’s leaving form and laid back down. She sighed as she spotted a cloud that looked like three friends playing together. How she missed her nee-san and senpai.

She wondered where they were and if they were even reborn in the same village as her. Senpai she was mostly sure was here. Who else could return a broken legendary blade to its former glory as a child?

Her nee-san whereabouts were still unknown to her. She hoped wherever she was, she was safe and happy as she was.

She was so immersed in her thoughts that neither she nor her dark counterpart noticed that she was no longer alone until the sound of someone laying down next to her caught her attention.

*Line Break*

‘This was surprisingly easy,’ Shirou thought as he made his way through the Nara clan forest. He had found a gap in the clan’s guard rotation and made a dash for it. He had used a different tactic this time, his method of infiltrating the Hyuuga clan compound not needed here since Naras, unlike Hyuugas do not have eyes that were utter bullshit.

He had traced Carnwennan, King Arthur’s dagger which had the ability to hide the wielder in a shroud of shadow. With it, he moved about unseen as he followed the scent of where Sakura was. It was remarkably useful for a C-ranked Noble Phantasm and something you would not expect the chivalrous King of Knights to have or use. Who expects a knight to sneak around unseen like an assassin?

He followed the scent as he moved close to a small hill where Sakura was. He passed by a small Nara boy who grumbled something about chores as he walked towards where all the houses were. He made it to the field where his nose lead him.

There, laid back on a small hill watching the clouds flypast was a girl who he had not seen in years since his rebirth. Her purple hair flew in the light breeze and the peaceful, content look on her face as she gazed at the clouds. There were no doubts now, he had found Sakura.

Quietly, he made his way next to her and laid down, dismissing Carnwennan in the process, startling her. She looked at him in shock.

“Long time no see, Sakura-chan,” he greeted.

“Senpai!/ **Senpai!** ” She got up and stared at him, wide-eyed as if not believing that he was next to her. She looked up at his hair and had to hold in her giggles. “Senpai, your hair!”

In her mind, Dark Sakura was not so restrained.

****

**‘Hahahaha! Oh kami, did you dye your hair to resemble a poodle?! Hahaha!’**

Shirou’s mood darkened a bit. Even Sakura, sweet, kind Sakura who couldn’t say a bad thing about anyone, was laughing at his hair. He could understand if it was her darker half, but the nice Sakura as well? Curse his E-ranked luck!

His dark thoughts vanished as he felt her hug him, holding on tight as if he would disappear if she let go. He hugged her back.

“I missed you senpai,” Sakura said, holding back tears.

“I’m here, Sakura-chan. I’m here,” Shirou said.

*Line Break*

“You look happy. Did something good happen to you today Sakura-chan?” Yoshino asked.

Sakura’s new family was having dinner. Everyone was there, even Yugao. Sakura did have a happy smile on her face, one more expressive than her usual kind smiles. She came back sometime after dusk, later than usual and too late to offer to help her aunt cook dinner. Really unusual as far as the Nara household was concerned.

She had spent the time catching up with Shirou, after setting up a Bounded Field to alert her to anyone getting close and to block off sound leaving the field. She did still keep her skills as a magus and what her nee-san taught her. She was glad as well when he told her of his meeting with nee-san a few days ago. After a while, she let Dark Sakura take over as she wanted to talk to senpai as well.

Of course, she had to start the conversation by asking if he seduced any girls in this new life, causing him to splutter. Then he talked about this Tenten girl whose father owned the shinobi supply store that he worked with. This bears investigating.

****

**‘You mean murder,’** Dark Sakura said. **‘Four years old and already the competition is showing up!’**

Sakura sighed. Senpai and his uncanny ability to get girls to fall for him without even realizing it. She and nee-san had to practically kiss the lights out of him for him to realize that their relationship was more than just friendship.

When dusk came, they reluctantly parted ways and she promised to visit him at his house. It would be just like the good old days when they were in high school, though she was unlikely to visit with the frequency that she used to. She had a true family to go home to now, after all, something senpai was happy for her. Maybe she could bring Shikamaru-kun and his friends along with her. Senpai even promised to let her use his kitchen, something she had been itching to do for a while now. Yoshino-oba-san did not let her help in the kitchen, citing her young age.

“I met a boy today,” Sakura answered, causing Shikaku to choke on his rice. A boy! Already?! He thought he would have more time than this! Don’t girls usually not notice boys until puberty? He was going to murder the fool who thought he was good enough for his precious little Sakura-chan!

Shikamaru suddenly looked more awake than he usually was, giving his sister his full attention. Who was this boy that his nee-chan met? Was it after he left? Why was he only hearing about this now? Was he good enough for his nee-chan? Ino would know! Her kaa-chan knew everything in this village and would probably tell her.

Yoshino and Yugao, on the other hand, had a marginally different reaction to that statement. Yugao was ecstatic. Finally, her little niece was making friends that were not from just three clans. “Tell us more.”

“Yes, who is this new friend of yours and when can we meet him?” Yoshino asked.

Sakura put down her chopsticks as she contemplated her answer. She and senpai had come up with a story for how they met. She absolutely would not get him in trouble by mentioning he snuck into the clan compound. “He got lost and wandered into the clan’s forest. We met after Shikamaru-kun left to feed the deer and we spent the rest of the time getting to know each other and cloud watching.”

Shikamaru felt betrayed. He thought that cloud watching together was something reserved only for him. He would sulk about this later. Getting more information out of his nee-chan was more important.

“Aww, how sweet! But tell us more! What’s his name? Is he cute? When will you bring him to meet us?” Yoshino asked in quick succession.

“Uhm, his name is Shirou. I guess so, he has pink hair and is kind of cute. And he invited me to his house two days from now.”

“My cute little niece is making friends now! I’m so happy!”

“Yugao-oba-chan!” Sakura felt embarrassed by her aunt’s reaction. Was making a friend such a big deal? “So, can I go?”

Skikaku made to answer but was beaten to it by his wife. “Of course, you can! Maybe you should bring Shikamaru-kun as well. Get him to leave the house every once in a while.”

“Maybe next time. I kind of want to go alone at first. Of course, he can come with me if he wants too.”

Shikamaru frowned as he mentally debated the pros and cons of this. Going with her would mean disrupting his preferred daily routine. On the other hand, this was his nee-chan making a new friend outside of the clan. Decisions, decisions.

“Actually, I wanted to bring Shikamaru-kun out of the village to visit some of our clan’s holdings. Let him have a tour of what our clan has beyond the village as heir,” Shikaku said. He originally wanted to bring Sakura-chan as well, but her making a new friend was probably more important right now. Let her have a childhood before duty rears its ugly head and she had to be a kunoichi.

He still was not sure about the boy, having never met him. But he trusted his niece, she had a good head on her shoulders despite her young age. Besides, if the boy hurt her, nothing short of an act of kami would stop him from getting vengeance! He was already planning on asking Inoichi to compile a personality profile on the boy, who from Sakura’s description of pink hair, was probably the same boy who caused such an uproar a few days ago by re-forging a legendary blade.

“And when were you going to tell me this?” Yoshino asked, eye twitching at having not been informed.

Shikaku picked a piece of beef from a plate. “It wasn’t anything urgent. Just a tour of our holdings within a few hours walk away from the village. Nothing big, we’ll be back by dinner.”

What happened next was Shikaku defending himself from an irritated wife as said wife tore him a new one for not informing her of something she should have been informed of, Yugao trying to calm them both down, Shikamaru resting his head on the dinner table with a muttered ‘troublesome’ as his parents have one of their regular arguments that he was mature enough to know did not mean anything bad.

Sakura smiled, glad at the change in topic. She used her chopsticks to grab a piece of steamed broccoli as the family went about its usual shenanigans. Just another night in the Nara household.

*Line Break*

Sakura stood in front of a door, unsure if she should knock. She had checked the address and it matched the one senpai gave her. Yugao-oba-chan had dropped her off here before she went to find her boyfriend.

****

**‘Coast is clear. Looks like Shikaku-oji-san really was telling the truth and not giving a half-assed excuse to spy on us,’** Dark Sakura said after using her sensing abilities to check for any followers.

She had half-expected Shikamaru and his friends to follow her, but it seemed that she was in the clear for now. Once she and senpai got their story clear, she would ask if she could bring them along next time.

Steeling herself, she knocked on the door. She heard the sound of someone moving from the other side and the door opened. There, standing in front of her was her senpai, wearing an apron. He smiled at seeing her. “Good morning, Sakura-chan.”

“Good morning, senpai.”

“Please, come in.” Shirou moved to the side, motioning for Sakura to enter. Placing her sandals on the rack, she walked in and put on the slippers Shirou had prepared for her. She took a look around the living room. It was different from his house in Fuyuki and the house they stayed in in London, but it had a homey feel to it. She could spot where senpai had tried to make the place look like his old home. Many good memories were made for both of them there.

“Why don’t you make yourself comfortable while I make us some

tea,” senpai said as he went to the kitchen. She knelt on a cushion at the low table, noting that the living room layout was just like she remembered back in Fuyuki.

Suddenly, a sliding door leading to deeper into the house slid open. “Shirou! I can’t believe you consider this an adequate workshop! It’s better than your old shed but then again that’s not much of an improvement! I thought I taught…”

Sakura stared at the newcomer. Redshirt and black mini-skirt, check. Hair in twin-tails, check. Bossy attitude but secretly sweet on the inside, check. White featureless eyes, well that was new. All in all, she was sure that this was her nee-san.

Rin could only stare at the person sitting in Shirou’s living room. She remembered feeling ecstatic and relieved when Shirou told her he found Sakura. Ecstatic because she was found, relieved because she was born into a good family. She deserved the chance at a happy childhood this time around, after all, that she had been through.

The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Sakura stood up slowly and walked to face her sister. Were they still sisters? They no longer shared blood after all.

The two were face to face, unsure of what to say before Rin threw caution out of the wind and pulled Sakura into a tight, desperate hug. The two sisters were finally reunited after four years apart.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry…” Rin cried into Sakura as she hugged back.

“I’m a terrible sister! I got us all killed and… and…”

“There, there. I forgive you,” Sakura patted her sister on the back. What was there to forgive? She had a wonderful new family now and a fresh new start. “There is nothing to forgive.” Sakura started to tear up as well. How she missed them both.

Shirou smiled from the door leading to the kitchen. He placed the tray with the teapot and cups on the table and stayed back. The three of them were reunited at last. 

****

**Omake**

Shikamaru grumbled as he accompanied his father on his tour of the clan’s holdings outside of the village. He would rather be back home with his nee-chan. He had to make sure that this guy nee-chan met was not a creep after all.

He conveniently ignored the mature part of his mind that whispered he was merely being a clingy little brother. So what? It was his right as a little brother to make sure that his sister was not hurt. What if this Shirou guy was mean to her? What if he was a bully? Was he stealing his nee-chan from him?

Shikamaru’s mind went a mile a minute on how his nee-chan’s new ‘friend’ might hurt her while waiting for his tou-san to finish talking to the clansmen who looked after one of their farms where they grew and processed medicinal herbs for medicines and soldier pills.

The two were on their way to another one of their clan’s holdings, this time a research facility when his father spoke up. “So, what has your mind going as fast as it is?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Troublesome brat. It’s about Sakura-chan’s new friend isn’t it?”

Shikamaru did not answer. He did not have to. His father was dead on about what was bothering him.

“I understand. I’m not too sure about it either. I’ll have to meet the boy myself to be sure.”

“Then why did you let her go alone?”

Shikaku sighed. “Because she needs to make friends outside the clan.”

Shikamaru was about to protest. Was he, Chouji and Ino not enough? Were the other kids in the clan not enough? His father explained before he could voice it though.

“Look, there are more people in this world than just those in the clan. One day, you’ll be making friends your age that aren’t beholden to you as the heir of the clan. Besides, friends are an important part of growing up. You’ll meet all sorts of people when you join the Academy, not just Naras, Akimichis and Yamanakas. Who knows, you might even like some of them.”

Shikamaru grumbled out an ‘unlikely’ and ‘troublesome’. That still did not elevate his fears for his sister.

“Now enough about that. There’s still an hour’s walk to the next place. Let’s talk about what we will do if this boy hurts Sakura-chan.”

Shikamaru perked up. Soon, father and son bonded over the increasingly humiliating and scary ways to set Shirou straight should Sakura-chan even get a papercut.

*Elsewhere*

In the Nara clan’s head house, a woman felt the sudden urge to smack her husband over the head with her frying pan and bury her son in enough chores to last all week.

****

**‘Why do I have this feeling we should have a ‘conversation’ with Shikaku-oji and Maru-chan?’** Dark Sakura asked as they were catching up with their sister.

‘They’re probably thinking of something stupid. We’ll set them straight when they come back.’ Sakura replied.

****

**Any criticism is welcome. Dark Sakura is here to stay though no matter what the reviews might say.**

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**Stay safe and here’s hoping that the Americans can resolve their issues without resorting to an American Civil War 2.0.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Sorry that this came out late. I had to vacate my university dorm room a few days ago since the university decided that only final year students would return. I had to endure a road trip with my parents as we drove for 6-hours to get to the university, twice. And I finally decided to give in to my curiosity and downloaded Fate/Grand Order.**

**For some reason, my country still doesn’t allow the game to be downloaded here and I had to go through several hurdles just to download it.**

**Also, I rolled a five-star Okita Souji (Alter) and a four-star Heracles in the same 10-roll summon last night. And this is my first week playing. Safe to say that I am now addicted. Now if I could only get a Saber then I will have a Servant from all seven regular classes.**

**Also, decided to give Dark Sakura a name, since calling her that was a bit tedious. It is not the most original name but meh…**

Chapter 5 – Uzumaki Naruto

Shirou struggled with several awkward bundles as he made his way back to his home from a late morning trip to the marketing district.

He had picked up the standard array of rice, fruits, vegetables, spices and meats he used in his cooking, as well as some less day to day things. Grounding cloths and metallic threads were hard to come by, as most people didn't have any use for them, but they were key in several forms of complex magic arrays. Shinobi's seemed to prefer to use what they called sealing paper and chakra infused ink to do their Fuinjutsu, but the paper was more delicate than the cloth, and would burn if too much magical energy was absorbed into it. Rin had been making him keep an eye out for anything that would work for a while and a few out of town traders had brought in some.

Ever since he had reconnected with Rin and Sakura, he had been helping supply them with the things they needed for their magecraft. Well, more Rin than Sakura. The first thing she had done was make new clothes for herself, sewing in several runes and Fuinjutsu formulas that would allow her to be able to mask her chakra presence by funnelling it into the seals. Through this she had started to sneak out of her families compound nearly every day to meet up with Shirou. Things really did feel like old times as they worked to turn the small Toko compound into a virtual fortress through a variety of seals and Bounded Fields.

Sakura had less problems with coming to meet him. She just told her aunt that she was coming here and that was about it. No need to sneak out under the disapproving stares of elderly clansmen. Though she sometimes brought her cousin and his little friends along. He had a distinct feeling that Shikamaru-kun did not like him.

Not all the things that Shirou had bought were for the girls. He himself had to buy some chakra infused sand for his forge. The orders for custom made weapons came in not long after word got out that he re-forged the White Light Chakra Sabre. From actual weapon users to would be kenjutsu masters, he had no shortage of requests.

It was a whole lot more work. Where someone could pop out a couple dozen kunai in an afternoon, a chakra blade took weeks to make. Though the price and number requested were also different. Ever ninja seemed to have somewhere between ten and a hundred kunai and shurikens provided to them by the village armoury. However, more high-quality weapons were more limited and had to come out from their own pocket. So, most shinobi only had one or two if any. This was probably because of the price difference.

Non-clan shinobi were just simple mercenaries who didn't have the most money, most lived on a sort of village subsidized plan. A kunai cost around five hundred ryo a piece, you could buy five of them for the same cost as a fancy meal. On the other hand, good katana could be compared to the price of a one-bedroom apartment. A chakra blade was closer to a house, and the village wouldn't help pay for those kinds of expenses.

At first Shirou considered just sticking to making the kunai. He wasn't all that comfortable giving people such blades. Unfortunately, Rin was a little too insistent on him taking the higher paying jobs, and long experience had taught him to simply not fight her on such things. Something to do with gaining more experience and quick cash.

Sakura was at first upset that Rin was making him work to pay for her research, but after some explanations, she accepted it. She began helping him with their funding issue. Who knew that Sakura was so well read on stories, not just Japanese ones but a lot of stories from other cultures as well.

Their plagiarizing of other authors hard work had yet to bring in the money she wanted, but according to the editor of the publishing company when he met ‘Emiya Kiritsugu’, the shinobi version of ‘King Arthur’ was bound to be a best seller. The Henge was really a useful jutsu for setting up fake identities. The three of them were even considering turning the Holy Grail War into a story but decided against it since it would reveal a lot of their abilities and the story just did not work without an in-depth explanation of their abilities.

Till the cash started rolling in, he would have to make do with making swords for shinobis. Luckily, because there were a large number of requests, he was able to be pickier about who he chose to make weapons for. He categorized the people who he saw into three main groups, two of which he wouldn't make blades for. It was easy enough to tell the people apart. Just one look at their current weapons told Shirou novels about the people that came to him.

The first and largest group were the people who believed that having a powerful blade would make them strong. These people were idiots. They reminded Shirou of an old proverb about putting pearls on a pig. It doesn't matter how beautiful the pearls, the pig is still a pig and won't look any prettier, you'll just be wasting good jewellery. Powerful swords that ended up in the hands of people like this usually didn't stay in their hands for very long, as they would be killed, and the weapons simply taken off their corpse.

The second were the people who were too good at what they did. People who killed more than was probably necessary and took innocent lives. Giving a powerful blade to them would be like giving an already dangerous dog rabies. Shirou had no desire to help these people be more efficient killers.

But if the people asking were actually of a decent sort, only taking jobs that helped people or took no enjoyment in killing, then Shirou would usually consent to making something. Sadly, this group seemed to be in the minority. So far, in the five months since he re-forged the White Light Chakra Sabre, he had made four other blades for three different people.

Two of them were katanas for Sakura’s aunt and her boyfriend. They were nice people who despite their career, did not let it turn them into monsters. He even sparred with the two, surprising them with his skill despite his young age. His young body, refraining from using his suicidal dual wielding style and the full scope of his skills and abilities meant that he loss easily, but for such a young age, it was still remarkable. 

The last was a pair of trench knives for Sarutobi Asuma, the Sandaime’s youngest son. He had an interesting fighting style, coating his blades with wind natured chakra for increased cutting power and reach. Nice man, smokes too much though and was obviously in denial that he and that red-eyed lady friend of his were not a couple. Some people just did not see the obvious.

Across the village, Rin and Sakura felt the urge to slap Shirou over the head for being an idiot.

Shirou was wondering just what he would be making for lunch when a now familiar scent came into the range of his sixth sense. He looked towards a park bench and saw the source, Uzumaki Naruto.

Shirou had long since realized what the boy was. There was no mistaking that scent. The disturbance that lingered in the air around him, something that distorted nature, but also seemed to be a part of it. Any magus would be able to sense it, and nearly any magus could tell you exactly what it was.

A spirit of nature that has been contorted by hate, a true demon. Not just any demon, but the Nine Tailed Demon that ravaged the village.

Shirou had seen the boy running around dozens of times, and each time he had done his best to simply ignore it, but today something was different. Shirou couldn't sense any of the ANBU who usually tailed the boy, acting as secret guards. He was all alone, sitting on the park bench, nobody watching.

Shirou put down his shopping and started to walk towards the park.

Naruto was not the demon itself. Shirou knew that. Demons, just like with most spirits, were non-corporeal beings, masses of mystical energy. Only the most powerful among them ever gained a physical form, and that was usually through a contract with Gaia. However, there was little doubt in Shirou's mind that the boy's body was playing host to the demon. The whisker marks on his cheeks were signs of the demon influencing its host's body.

He might be wrong, and this world might operate on different rules when it came to demonic beings, but Shirou had no doubts that the fox was not a benevolent being.

It was really sad. The child was innocent. However, Shirou was all too aware of how possessed human were. They could exist completely normal lives without anyone having a clue, until something causes them to feel blood lust. After that they would go berserk.

Shirou had a few dozen swords in his Unlimited Blade Works that had been used against these half breeds in the past. He could scan their history and remember those horrible battles. A human body possessed by a demon could be compared to a Servant in terms of raw power, and the added healing factor from the demon’s nature made them hard to kill. That was with a normal demon. With one as strong as the Nine Tails, it would be an entire Holy Grail War level of dangerous.

"Kill one to save a hundred," Shirou mumbled to himself, steeling his heart for what he was going to do.

Killing demons was no easy task. Even if the vessel was destroyed, it wouldn't truly kill the demon. Through its connection to nature, the demon would eventually regenerate, which was probably why the boy had been allowed to live. However, there were ways of severing that connection.

Usually a normal Black Key would do the trick, but Shirou wasn't taking any chances. He loaded up Gae Buidhe, a fairy made weapon, into his Unlimited Blade Works, preparing to Trace it. The short spear would be fairly manoeuvrable, even with Shirou's shortened height, and would easily sever the demon's bond with nature, destroying it forever.

However, right before Shirou made to plunge the spear through the back of the boy's chest, a low growling sound filled the air, giving him pause. It was... the child's stomach. Looking closer, Shirou saw that the child was holding his stomach and sobbing softly.

He didn't show most of the usual signs of neglect or abuse. He wasn't all that thin, and he didn't have any bruises covering his body. Though even if he was being starved and beaten, the demon inside of him would keep him alive and unscarred. It would provide him with all the energy he needed without having to cannibalize his own body, and it would heal any obvious injures. However, there were things that the demon wouldn't provide.

The boy was small, even for a three-year-old. Even with the demon providing him with energy, it couldn't replace two of the most important things for the growth of a young body, sustenance and human contact.

His clothes were a mess, the black shirt with the leaf symbol on the front made it hard to notice until you got closer, but it was covered with holes and looked like it had been a long while since it had a good washing. A few small blood stains spoke of injures that his body had received. There was also a good deal of dirt in his hair, and he was shivering slightly, the late fall air being rather cold for a worn-out t-shirt and shorts.

There was also the mere fact that the boy was out there all alone. Shirou, Rin and Sakura weren't exactly your normal children but even they were hardly left all alone for more than a few hours. It was actually quite annoying to the thirty plus year old children. Well, for him and Rin. Sakura was just happy at the concern that was being shown to her by responsible adults.

Sympathy started to erode away the steel Shirou was trying to erect around his heart. He tried to maintain his focus and hold fast to his ideals... but rather than Tracing his weapon and finishing the demon off, he called out to the boy.

"Hey," Shirou said, causing the kid to snap up and look at him with deep blue eyes filled with fear. It hardly registered with Shirou that even though his cheeks were stained with tears, the boy's eyes weren't at all blood shot. Demon regeneration must have guarded against even that. "You hungry?"

‘Well, it’s not like he's going to lose control right away. I can at least give him a last meal,' Shirou tried to tell himself. He hadn't given up on the idea of killing the boy. It was still the option that insured safety for the greatest number of lives. He was just... delaying it a little.

Shirou knew damn well that neither Saber nor Archer would have hesitated for a second in ending the boy's life. They wouldn't have even felt the slightest bit conflicted about it. Lancer might have said it put a bad taste in his mouth to kill such a young child, but he would have done it. They would have all realized it was a necessary evil and done their duties as heroes.

"Are you sure it’s okay?" Naruto said, standing back a bit as Shirou moved up towards his home, giving the barrier around the house his command to let Naruto through. "Won't your parents be mad at you for this?"

"Hm?" Shirou mumbled, being dragged out of his thoughts. "No, its fine. I don't have any parents."

"You don's!?" Naruto half shouted in surprise, his blue eyes widening as he stared at Shirou, as if seeing the slightly older child in a new light.

Shirou ignored the boy's surprise as he opened up the door to his house and carried in his shopping. "I'm home!" He shouted out of a half-ingrained habit. That's not to say he didn't get a response.

"It's about time, Shirou-chan!" The grinning face of a purple haired female ninja said as the owner of these features idly played with a few kunai. "I came all the way here to see you, and there wasn't even a hint of a free lunch. Good thing Sakura-chan was here to correct that!"

"Shouldn't you be at work, Anko-nee?" Shirou said in a disapproving voice.

Mitarashi Anko was somewhere between fifteen and sixteen, though she wouldn't actually tell them her exact age. Her purple hair was usually worn in a sort of spiked up ponytail and her brown eyes were as featureless as Rin's white and Sakura’s purple.

She had first shown up two months previous, under the pre-tense of her house being messed up in a large-scale plumbing accident and needing a place to crash for a while. Unlike the other shinobi he hosted who were usually field ops, Anko worked in Konoha's Intelligence Division.

The older girl had been sent to spy on the three of them. When Rin confronted her about it, she didn't even both denying it. The Hokage had ordered for the three of them to be watched, and Anko had been assigned to both act as a sort of guard and to report on their activities. Young as she was, Shirou would admit that she was highly skilled.

She considered it to be the best job she had ever been assigned. She was getting paid to live in a nice house with someone else doing all of the household work, being given three home cooked meals a day, and got to tease Shirou all she wanted.

After the whole 'you're spying on us' was out of the way, Anko and Rin ended up being fairly friendly with one and other. It was probably due to their mutual pass time of teasing Shirou, though the fact that Anko was knowledgeable about various techniques and willing to share didn't hurt.

She and Sakura got along well enough. Then, Sakura baked a chocolate cake and Anko declared that she was her favourite among the three. Anyone who could bake a cake that made her seriously reconsider dango as the food of the gods was a keeper.

That she later went to make heavenly homemade dango for her merely cemented Sakura’s status as her favourite little minion. Who knew that four-year-olds could put most five-star chefs to shame?

Shirou also didn't mind Anko's presence. It was actually a lot like having Fuji-nee around. Maybe even disturbingly like it. Ravenous appetite, love of teasing him, if she was a teacher then the similarities would be eerily apparent. At least Fuji-nee did not know various ways to get you to spill your guts without touching you. Though Fuji-nee never paid him rent for mooching off him either.

"Oh, don't be like that, Shirou-chan. I'm supposed to be watching you, Yugao’s mini me and the princess. How am I supposed to do that if I don't swing by during the day to make sure you three precious little monsters are alright," Anko said with a wide grin.

Sakura entered from the kitchen. “Shirou, your back. I was thinking of making pasta for lunch, since you managed to build a working pasta machine. Is that alright?” Sakura had to consciously remind herself that calling Shirou ‘senpai’ now was not the best idea. They were both the same age. In fact, all three of them were born within days of each other on the first week of June. Funny thing was that Rin was the youngest among them, being born on the 8th of June, Shirou on the 6th and her on the 4th. She now had older sister privileges, much to Rin’s annoyance. 

“Sure. I think Bolognese since we don’t have any cheese.”

Anko salivated. The two of them often experimented with recreating food from their old world and Anko was a willing judge of their efforts ever since she first took a bite of Sakura’s triple layer dark chocolate cake. This really was the best assignment she ever received.

Looking past Shirou and at Naruto, Anko raised an eyebrow slightly. "Hey, looks like a stray followed you home."

Naruto bristled a bit at that. "I'm not a stway!" He said angrily. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna be the greadest shinobi ever!"

"My, my, listen to it hiss," Anko chuckled as the young blond fumed.

"Naruto will be joining us for lunch, so try to play nice." Shirou said as he put down his bundles on the table.

“Hmm, I’ll go make some more pasta dough.” Sakura, bless her heart, did not question why Shirou brought back a boy that her darker half, whom we shall now dub BB, said was possessed by a demon. Yes, BB, real original I know. Sakura went back into the kitchen, presumably to make more pasta dough.

*In the distant alternate future on the moon*

BB-chan sneezed. That was odd. She was an A.I., how did she get sick? She would have to run several anti-virus checks later. Digitally shrugging, she went back to being the best kouhai ever! Now where was senpai again?

*Back to our regular program*

"You know if you feed it, it won't ever leave. That's just how strays are," Anko said with a sly smile.

"You mean like you?" Shirou said dryly.

"Ah, that wasn't very nice. I thought you loved me, Shirou-chan," Anko fake pouted.

"I'm going to help Sakura start making lunch now. Any allergies?" Shirou asked Naruto, doing his best to ignore Anko's antics at the moment.

"Uhm... can you make ramen?" Naruto asked, seeming to forget about Anko rather quickly.

"Ramen?" Shirou repeated, wondering how a question regarding allergies turned into a request for ramen. Kid probably did not even know what that was, the demon likely not going to let his host die from something as mundane as a nut allergy.

The little boy's face light up like a bonfire. "Yeah! Ramen is the most amazing food ever! There's this nice man, Teuchi, he sometimes gives me some whenever..!" Naruto's enthusiasm faltered before he merely continued on a different train. "Teuchi said that ramen is the food of the gods! It is the best food ever and it could be used to solve all the world’s problems if you got enough of it!"

"Is that so? Well, I’m not sure how spaghetti compares, but I can see what I can do," Shirou said, leaving Naruto with Anko as he went into the kitchen to help Sakura start preparations.

Shirou let himself be lost in the mundane task of cooking with Sakura. Rin never really understood why Shirou liked to do such things. The half mechanical tasks that took up just enough concentration to stop you from thinking about the great world. The kitchen became his universe, and nothing outside of it could matter.

Rin sometimes joined them. The mundane act of cooking was apparently beneath her status as the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, so she took every opportunity to spit in her clan elders’ faces. Fortunately, her ability to cook, learnt out of necessity by having Kotomine Kirei as her guardian, was still up to snuff.

Shirou didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to consider what life must be like for Naruto. The kind of hardships that the small child had to endure with the world at large being willingly ignorant of his suffering. That or causing it

It reminded him too much of Sakura. One of the things in his past life that he felt worst about. He had been so close to the girl for so many years but hadn't noticed the hell she had been put through. The guilt of it ate away at him. He knew it did the same to Rin.

“You’re thinking about ‘that’,” Sakura idly said as she cooked the spaghetti. “Don’t. You two didn’t know and when you did, the two of you fought your way to save me like avenging angels.”

Shirou spent the next twenty minutes decompressing as he made the sauce while Sakura grilled the meatballs. Sakura really was too perceptive at times. But the moment he exited the kitchen, the fact that the world he was in was a strange one was brought right back to his attention.

"Anko-nee, what are you doing?" Shirou asked dumbly.

"Babysitting," the kunoichi replied in a matter of fact manner as she sat on Naruto and filled her nails.

"Shirou-nii... help me..." Naruto gasped as he was crushed underneath the young woman's butt.

Shirou sighed. "Lunch is ready, so just get off of him."

"You're no fun, Shirou-chan," Anko said in a disappointed manner, though she did get off of Naruto so that she could grab her meal.

Shirou set the table as Anko and Naruto took their seats. Though Naruto did look uncomfortable with eating at a low table. Must have never done so before.

“Hey! Why are there five plates here!” Naruto asked.

“Oh, that one is for the princess,” Anko answered, fork and spoon in hand as she waited for Sakura to come in with the food.

“Princess?” Naruto said.

As if on cue, the door to the room Rin had claimed as her personal study opened up and the girl herself came walking out holding a cup of coffee and a sheet of papers. "Hey Shirou. I smelled lunch. Did you grab my things for me from the markets?" she said in the manner of a lady addressing a servant.

She was dressed in the clothes she had prepared to help her sneak out of her house. The long-sleeved red top and short black skirt with stockings were very much alike the clothes she had worn in high school, though without her older figure, they didn't produce the same drop jaw response out of anyone but true perverts and lolicons.

She half stopped on her way to the table when she noticed Naruto. "Shirou, why is there a possessed boy at the table?" Rin asked, switching to speaking in English.

The native language around the Elemental Nations was more of a dialect of Japanese, so whenever they needed to speak to each other while others were watching, they decided the best course of action was to switch to English. It always shocked the people who were trying to listen in on them, who believed that the three four-year olds had somehow managed to set up an entire code language without them noticing.

Their research notes were even harder to decipher. Rin wrote in cuneiform, Sakura in Sanskrit and him in English, because unlike those two, he did not know a dead language to write down his notes in. Though he did find himself able to understand old Japanese.

Ah, the remnants of their time as Pseudo-Servants. Figures that those two were compatible with several gods, none of them Shinto. Their memories of their time at Chaldea was a bit blurry since they did not retain control, they were in the passenger seat while the goddesses, or blacksmith in his case, were the drivers. They did leave behind knowledge and information that they felt they could handle though. His Tracing improved greatly after Muramasa left behind all his skills and knowledge of forging.

"He... was hungry," Shirou responded, a little bit embarrassed.

Rin sighed as she took her seat at the table. "Only you, Shirou."

"Are you really a princess?" Naruto asked, looking Rin up and down suspiciously.

"Of course, I am," Rin said with a smile as she sat in a very dignified manner. "Haven't you ever seen a princess before."

Shirou sighed, knowing full well that she was trying to brainwash the little boy. It was at this time that Sakura came in with a big pot of spaghetti and meatballs with Bolognese sauce and served their portions.

All talking ended abruptly as Naruto practically attacked his plate. Anko was only slightly better, though Rin controlled herself, eating in a civilized manner.

Shirou held off, watching everyone as they ate his food, taking a little satisfaction at how people seemed to like it. Sakura did the same, smiling serenely at their enjoyment. The two of them dug in as well, eating like normal people with actual manners, unlike those two who seemed to think manners were pointless.

"Uhm... As usual, your cooking is at an acceptable level, as to standard," Rin said in her high and mighty fashion.

Anko snorted. "Your words of praise are too overwhelming, Princess. You should be careful, or it might go to their heads."

Naruto didn't say a word. He couldn't, not with the rate he was eating. It wasn't until he finished the noodles and was using the spoon to scoop in the remaining sauce in his mouth so fast that some of it spilt out onto his shirt that he finally said anything. "That was amazing! Maybe even better than ramen!" He said with a satisfied sigh and he seemed to dissolve down into his seat.

Anko nodded in agreement. Oh, how her colleagues envied her for her assignment. She just had to babysit three kids that could not only look after themselves, but cooked meals fit for the daimyo. Now if only they were willing to let her exploit their cooking to bribe people. The princess at least seemed receptive to the idea, for a price of course. 

"Maybe it’s just hunger making you say that." Shirou said before asking the question that had been bugging him. "Naruto, why were you out there in the park alone?" The intelligence officer in the room pricked up her ears, though tried to pretend she was still interested in her food. No doubt Anko was going to go sell out or blackmail whoever it was that was supposed to be keeping an eye on the demon host.

Rin and Sakura turned their attention on the youngest in the room, taking in everything their eyes could see about him. Rin’s eyes soften, no doubt already making a conclusion on why Shirou invited the boy back for lunch.

Sakura felt her heart go out to the boy. She could already tell the boy was not cared for properly. Her kind nature compelled her to do what she could for him.

 **‘What about the boy’s tenant?’** BB asked.

‘That can be dealt with. Between nee-san’s intelligence, my power and senpai’s versatility, we’ll figure something out,’ Sakura replied.

Naruto's face momentarily twitched into a sad expression before he sat up and puffed out his chest in a fake pride. "Oh, one of those cranky old farts at the orphanage was PMSing or something. I didn't want to put up with him anymore, so I left."

Shirou frowned. Ignoring the obvious fact that Naruto didn't have a clue what PMSing meant, Shirou could read between the lines well enough. Since Naruto didn't have anything but the clothes on his back, the people running the orphanage must have thrown the boy out onto the streets the night before. Whether that was a permanent thing, or if it was the first time it had happened, Shirou didn't know. Naruto must have been forced to sleep out in the cold and had missed breakfast, perhaps dinner to.

"Did you manage to eat dinner last night or..." Shirou tested.

"Um... well no... but that doesn't matter! A guy like me can go days without eating anything!" Naruto tried to boast. Sadly, his stomach growled in disagreement, causing his face to fall.

"Stupid kid. Don't pretend you are more okay then you are. Doesn't do you any good to lie to anyone here," Anko said, her face more serious than normal. There was probably a story there, but Shirou wouldn't pry. Not when the person involved was someone who was a master of daggers and poisons.

"Here," Sakura laid out a slice of her infamous chocolate cake. It was originally going to be dessert for tonight, but Naruto was obviously still hungry.

"But this is your food," Naruto said, eying the cake. Poor boy had probably never even eaten chocolate before. Poor thing.

"And we would be poor hosts if a guest went home hungry," Shirou said, waving the boy off.

“Just eat the cake kid. You don’t know what you’re missing,” Anko told him, staring at the cake with want. Sakura literally had the Akimichi clan at her beck and call the first time she baked it. All she asked for were ingredients for her and Shirou’s cooking, some ingredients were hard to get from countries that did not exactly have the best relations with Konoha, but Anko knew that Chouza would happily murder the Hokage for a full cake.

Naruto grinned wide. "Thank you!" He said before digging into the cake. His eyes widened as he took a bite, before dissolving into bliss. Sakura’s desserts were better than even Shirou’s, though their cooking were about on par. Sakura was better at Western cuisines while Shirou was better at Japanese cuisines along with the cuisine from China and Korea. Between the two of them, they never ate the same meal twice in a month.

Rin watched the boy eating before a smile grin passed over her face. "Alright, I've decided," she said, getting the others attention. "Naruto-kun is going to be living here from now on."

"Huh!?" Naruto shouted, accidently getting some cake on his shirt, much to Anko’s dismay. Such a waste of perfectly good cake.

Shirou himself tensed up. "You do realize this is my house?" he said, locking eye contact with the girl, trying to send the message that this was not a good idea.

"Hm? Did you say something, Shirou?" Rin replayed, her warm smile not masking the fact that she was going to ignore all his complaints from this point on.

Sakura sighed. Just like nee-san to decide for all of them. Their time in the Gobi Desert came to mind. At least she got some rare ingredients from there. Though she did agree with her, the poor boy obviously needed all the love he could get. She wondered what Yoshino-oba would think.

In the Nara household, the Nara matriarch felt that her motherly affection was needed. Then, Shikaku opened his mouth then she went on to scold her husband and son on how lazy they were since Sakura-chan was not here to do the chores for them.

**‘Yeah, I think we both know how she would react. Think she would react differently if she knew about ‘you-know-what’?’**

‘It’s Yoshino-oba.’

 **‘Good point,’** BB coincided. 

"Just what I needed, another brat to look after," Anko said, though she didn't seem that opposed to the idea. "I'll go tell the old man. I need to be heading off to deliver my reports anyways. They better increase my pay." She got up and left before Shirou could stop her.

"Hey! What if I don't want to live here!?" Naruto shouted, still in shock.

"Makes no difference. I am a princess and I have decided. You are just going to have to deal with it. That's the way the world works after all," Rin said with a soft chuckle, confusing the actual child. "Now, if you are going to stay here, the first thing you will need is a bath. You're filthy. Some of Shirou's old clothes will probably fit you and he can get you some new things later."

Rin hurriedly forced Naruto to go and take a bath, leaving her, Sakura and Shirou alone together as she helped them with washing the dishes. After doing a quick sweep for people listening it, they got to talking.

"Rin, he's possessed by a demon. He needs to be put down before he goes berserk," Shirou said trying to maintain a level of professional calm about it. Something he was finding difficult to do.

"I doubt he will go lose himself to the demon immediately. I'd give it another ten years or so. Who knows, it might never happen," Rin said, waving him off.

"It might never happen if he spent his entire life livings in peace. With how things are, I doubt he will make it till he is ten. Especially if he actually tries to become a shinobi and is exposed to killing," Shirou counted. "Every day he lives comes the risk that something might happen. Another incident, just like three years ago. I'm not going to take those kinds of chances."

“We’re not even sure if this world works on the same rules as our old one. Our magecraft is easier to use and way more powerful than it ever could be in our old world except during the Age of Gods, and from what I’ve read, Naruto isn’t even the only demon container in this world,” Rin countered.

“BB said that she could sense two different chakra signatures inside Naruto’s seal. Maybe their seals for demon containment are better than what magecraft could ever do?” Sakura added.

“I’m still not sure about this,” Shirou said.

Rin rolled her eyes and smiled. "Alright then. How about a bet. If you can bring yourself to do it, then kill him. I won't stop you. But if you can't, I get to observe him as research material," Rin said tapping her chin. "I doubt that a demon as powerful as the Nine Tails actually willingly took on a human host. It is probably bound to the child with a seal of some kind. It would be interesting to take a closer look at. Not to mention the demon itself. I wonder how the changes in Gaia would affect those spirits that are connected to nature. So many questions."

Shirou's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious."

Rin turned to him, giving him a sly smile. "Oh, I am serious, and I know I'm going to win. You won't kill him, because you aren't Archer, and you never will be." Then she walked out, returning back to her clan and leaving Shirou to take care of the three-year-old time bomb.

Sakura smiled at Shirou. Trust nee-san to explain her decisions as a desire to research when she really did not want senpai to turn into his Counter Guardian alternate future self. Drying the last plate, she excused herself to return to her clan as well. Hmm, maybe Shikamaru could make a new friend his age. She would have to bring him over tomorrow.

Closing his eyes, Shirou tried again to steel his heart, only to find the steel crumbling at the memory of Naruto's hopeful blue eyes. "I'll... kill him next week," Shirou mumbled to himself, before running off to fetch some clothes that would fit the small boy.

***Omake***

It was a fine day that morning and in a section of Konoha’s Intelligence Division’s building, the Konoha Cryptanalysis Team were enjoying an easy day. Responsible for creating the village’s secret codes and deciphering the codes of other villages, they were one of the most important and respected branches of the Intelligence Division.

The current head, one Ibuka Shintaro was drinking his morning coffee as he read through his paperwork.

‘Hmm, looks like Kumo changed their codes. Looks simple enough, if I just use the old cipher and add a few adjustments… This is good coffee. Wonder what brand it is?’

Sadly, his quiet day deciphering codes of other villages was interrupted when his office door was kicked opened.

“The Sexy and Single Mitarashi Anko is here!”

“Sigh... Good morning Anko, what can I do for you this morning?”

He was not even surprised. Anko had the habit of barging in on anyone who was not in an important meeting. Curious though, this was remarkably early for her since she liked to come in late ever since she was given that assignment to watch that Toko boy.

“Say, Ibuka. You guys can solve any code you lay your hands on within a week right?”

“Yes. There hasn’t been a code we haven’t broke that took longer than 6 sleepless nights,” Ibuka answered proudly. That was one hell of a week during the height of the Third Shinobi World War.

“Well I bet that you can’t solve my code within a week!” Anko challenged.

“Challenge accepted!” This was no longer a mere bet. This was a matter of honour! To say that his team, with whom he had spent sleepless nights breaking the codes of Konoha’s enemies with, could not break a code within a week? Preposterous!

“I need you to decipher this. Think you can do it?” Anko waved a sheet of paper in front of him.

Accepting the paper, he looked it over and felt his eyes widen.

“What is this?!!”

“I know right? I had my cute little monsters write down a message in that code of theirs for you to decipher. Figured that you guys could use the challenge since the codes coming out from the other villages are kind of getting predictable. Wouldn’t want you guys to get rusty now would we?”

The thirty-year-old man read through the code. Fascinating. Three four-year-olds came up with this. Still, how hard could it be? Geniuses or not, they were still four years old.

“And best of all, they agreed to bake you all cookies if you break it within a week!”

Ibuka felt his mouth salivate. Anko had once brought a bento that her little wards made for her lunch. The smell from her lunch was heavenly and worst, she ate it in full view of all of them and did not share! There were even enough cookies baked by Shikaku’s niece for the whole division, but the glutton ate them all!

“Well, see you in a week!” And with that, Anko left with as much flamboyance as she came.

*A week later*

Ibuka felt like a failure. His whole team felt like failures. The entire Intelligence Division felt like failures. It had been a week since Anko gave him that code and they had not even managed to figure out what the first sentence said.

Day one, confidence that the team would break this code before lunch.

Day two and one sleepless night later, an intern was sent out to bring back enough coffee to overdose an Akimichi several times over.

Day three, they had caved and brought in outside help. Surely, Inoichi-sama could help them figure this out?

Day four, Inoichi was seriously considering having Shikaku’s niece and her friends create a code for their own use.

Day five, Inoichi brought in Shikaku-sama.

Day six, they got the entire division to help out after promising to share the cookies.

Day seven, it had been six sleepless nights and they still hadn’t broken it!

Day eight. “I’m back! Well?”

Somewhere in the back, the youngest member of his team was sobbing quietly. 

Ibuka, who after seven consecutive nights without sleep, was less proud than he was a week ago. “We can’t break it. What does it say?”

Anko grinned. “Three sentences. ‘Sorry, about this but Anko-nee kept pestering us to help her. She promised to teach us about the more subtle uses of poison. If you can’t break this, don’t worry, we’re sure you’ll figure it out someday.’ The sentences were written by pinky, violet and the princess in that order.” She read the last one with the patronizing tone that Rin told her to as well.

Ibuka was on his knees. Here they were, Konoha’s finest when it came to intelligence gathering and interpretation, beaten by three four-year-olds.

Inoichi sighed and raised a bag he brought in with him that morning. “If it is any condolence, Sakura-chan decided to bake the cookies anyway for all of you after I asked her to. Figured you all could use a treat to raise your spirits after such a crushing defeat.”

The entire division was in tears. Best boss ever!

**I accept omake ideas. They don’t have to be canon, and I will use them if I like them. Also, I would really like someone to help me beta this since Grammarly isn’t all that it is cracked out to be. Peace out! Stay safe! Now, back to my gacha!**


	7. Chapter 6

**I have read many reviews criticising my portrayal of Shirou. Honestly, I just wish that you all would be more polite about it. I don’t mind criticism, welcome it even. But please, try not to be rude about it.**

**As for Shirou being OOC, as some of you wrote, I have no excuse other than the fact that it was probably poorly written, but I am too far along to correct that. Future chapters will be done more carefully, especially now that I have found a Beta.**

**Betaed by Danga**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 6

Whenever Rin left the Hyuuga compound, her grandfather mandated that she had an escort for her protection. Said escort had been waiting outside of the Toko compound for the better part of an hour, and she intended for it to be kept that way. There was no point for her to inconvenience herself for some old fart.

And even if those members wanted to enter the compound, they physically couldn't, as the Bounded Field that encompassed the area prevented those with the Caged Bird Seal from entering. Simply done by reverse engineering the seal through structural analysis and keying the bounded field to the trigger seal of the Caged Bird Seal.

Its effects weren’t enough to kill them, with small doses of lightning chakra forced throughout their body to start and a very, very forceful ejection if one got too persistent in their attempts to grab the “unruly” heiress. If they persisted even then, a host of terrifying illusions that they could not break out of awaited them.

This usually meant a clump of traumatized Branch Members muttering fearfully about a white-eyed witch would be left in the wake of the Hyuuga Heiress’s visits to the Toko compound.

This usually meant that a member of the Main House had to get her, a task many of the Main branch deemed beneath them. Honestly, some of her Main House cousins acted as if they were the ones destined to save the world from the incineration of humanity. Their arrogance was at times baffling as they believed they were far above the “rabble and mongrels” of Konoha’s streets. Coming from a girl who played host to two goddesses and met hundreds of legendary figures, it was certainly something.

Considering the fact that one of her grandfather’s flunkies had tried to force his way through the Bounded Field so hard he actually managed to quite literally reshape his face, it was a wonder how the Hyuuga managed to get to the point they are at now. She discussed at length about the terminal illness of stupidity that Hyuuga Clan suffered from to the medics attending to the comatose man, much to their amusement.

All of this was just one of the ways that she used to piss off her grandfather. Her father and mother always came to pick her up themselves when they wanted something, or her uncle who she liked and keyed to let pass her Bounded Field, but her grandfather would only send the little people. He could have sent a Main House clansman, he did have the respect of most of the Main House, who were not sealed, but that was beneath the Main House apparently.

The seal’s main purpose supposedly was to ensure that should the bearer die in battle, their eyes could not be taken to be used by the enemy. Rin thought that the system was fundamentally flawed since it could easily be bypassed by simply capturing a Hyuuga alive then extracting their eyes, and if that was the purpose of the seal, why don’t all members wear it?

And on that train of thought, what _was_ the main purpose of the seal?

To Rin it was simple, to keep the Branch House subservient to the Main House under threat of pain. All of the Branch House’s shinobi were sealed since they outnumbered the Main House by a significant margin and the odds would not be favourable without some control measure. But there were members of the Branch House who did not have the seal. Civilians who lived in the village full time and were not trained in the shinobi arts, and therefore not a threat to the Main House’s authority, were not sealed barring specific circumstances.

Many of the clan's girls were like this and went through bridal training rather than shinobi training. The old clan heads saw the need to keep several baby-makers around to make up for mortality rates, and the stress caused by the seals was for the babies in the womb. Not a difficult observation to make even without Byakugan eyes.

As she was being taken back home, she thought back to her short meeting with the possessed child, Naruto. Though perhaps the more technically accurate term should be demon host, the boy seemed to be the one in control, for now at least.

If one approached the issue of the boy from a utilitarian model of ethics, then what they should do was clear. You kill one loveless orphan to prevent the deaths of hundreds, even thousands.

Rin didn't know what kind of seal was being used in order to seal away something as powerful as the Nine-Tailed Fox, but it wasn't powerful enough. That fact was as plain as the whiskers on the boy's face. The demon's energies were mixing in with the boy's, slowly changing him. Even without a trigger, it was only a matter of time.

It would start with small physical changes on the body, like the whiskers, then progress unto personality issues or uncanny tendencies. His nails would most likely lengthen, and his teeth would sharpen. He would become increasingly violent and rebellious. The last hint would be that his eyes would turn red, his hair might also turn red too, depending on the type of demon. After that he would lose control all together and the demon would take over.

That happening in the middle of a city as large as Konoha was bad. Like a hungry Dead Apostle in the middle of downtown Tokyo kind of bad. Kiss the village goodbye kind of bad.

Possessed people who reached this point were as strong as a Servant and were sometimes even harder to kill. You would rip off their arms, blast their hearts into pieces or even chop off their heads and the thing would just regenerate and keep on coming. The destructive power it could call on was comparable to an Anti-fortress Noble Phantasm. Even if the ninja of Konoha could deal with something of that magnitude, most likely hundreds would die. As far as Rin knew, there was no turning back once the demon fully took over, Naruto would die anyways, consumed by the demon.

It wouldn't even end there. Rin could only assume they sealed the demon in Naruto because they lacked the means to destroy it completely. So, a few years down the line, the demon would regenerate and continue its killing spree. The rumors of a crazed jinchuriki in Suna certainly are not helping.

Altogether, Shirou using his weapons to put an end to the beast once and for all would probably save thousands of people, all at the cost of one orphan boy that no one even seemed to care about.

Yes, a utilitarian would definitely say to just kill the boy. Fortunately for Naruto, Rin was not a utilitarian. She believed that some things were worth the possible deaths of thousands of people that she didn't care about. She could think of two reasons that were good enough for her to try to keep the boy alive.

The one that Shirou would guess was professional curiosity. Besides just being interested in the seal that was used on the boy, the demon itself was something to be looked at. A human possessed by a true demon, one born from nature rather than from the thoughts of man, was not something one could easily find. No magus had ever had the chance to fully examine one. The possible things that could be gleaned from merely a glimpse were unbelievable.

By their nature, True Demons converted the Mana or 'Natural Energy' in the air into Life Force or 'Physical Energy', which could then be used by its host, either refining it in their magic circuits to create Od or mixing it with 'Mental Energy' to make Chakra. Mana was normally toxic to humans, and yet through these true demons it could be turned into almost endless amounts of usable energy.

Not to mention the origin of this particular demon, if the stories were true. The Sage of the Six Paths had used his power, 'the Creation of All Things', in order to divide the power of the Ten Tailed Demon into the Nine Tailed Beasts, who had been non corrupted Spirits of Nature in the beginning, rather than Demons. They had only become twisted later on by the actions of humans.

Not only was this a case of converting a Demon back into a normal Nature Spirit, but it was also the equivalent to a True Magic. The Heaven's Feel, the power to create new souls. To have the actual product of such a power right in front of her almost made Rin drool.

With the decreased influence of Gaia in this new world, there had been a lot of things that looked like True Magic, but each time Rin looked closer, she would find that they weren't. For example, summoning didn't open a gateway into another world. It borrowed things, and those things had to go back. If something was taken, then something of equal value must be given to get it. Borrowed space took up the energy to maintain, and the energy would be worked on by Gaia to destroy it. It was only possible because of the weakened Gaia, but it still followed all the normal laws of logic, unlike with True Magic which could break the natural laws.

It had been the same with most space-time jutsu. They looked something like the real deal, but they never reached that point of being a True Magic. Finding anything that could lead her to rediscovering the Heaven's Feel was something she would be willing to risk lives over. Nearly every Magus would.

Then there was the seal that was used to imprison the demon in the boy. The Yondaime’s seal was something she really wanted to take a look at, especially if the rumors about it being powered by the Shinigami himself were true. Oh, she was not suicidal enough to mess with it but even a look at the outer mechanisms of a seal powerful enough to trap a force of nature was worth the risk.

The second reason for letting the boy live was something much more personal. It had to do with a promise. She had promised Archer that she wouldn't let Shirou become him.

It was going to be hard, but if they could actually save the boy rather than following that stupid ideal and making a sacrifice out of him, then it would be a huge step to changing Shirou's bleak future. The fact that Shirou hadn't killed the boy the moment he had the chance was already a positive sign, despite it being Clock Tower policy to have people possessed by demons to be killed on sight, if they were able to.

Back in their old world, she and Sakura worried everyday as they could see Shirou begin to walk the path that would lead to his inevitable downfall. She had a vivid image of the path Archer took that resulted in him accepting a contract with Alaya thanks to the connection they once shared as Master and Servant. Shirou never gave up on his dream and it was all the two of them could do to keep him from with them.

If things were truly desperate, the two of them planned to make him the father of their children, thus forcing him to stay under his obligation as the father. Emotional blackmail basically. Yes, that was all it was and not because she thought he was husband and father material. She did not! Not at all! 

Rin resigned herself to the fact that she was going to have to figure out how to remove the demon without killing the boy in a decade's time before the boy reached the point of no return. A job that no one in the history of her old world had accomplished after the first signs of physical changes started.

She didn't have to worry about him going over the limit though. Shirou wouldn't hold back if he saw red eyes. So, with the boy staying with Shirou, there was little danger of him killing a good percentage of the city. Shirou also had a good deal of experience with mental barriers from back when he needed to maintain them against his Reality Marble. If they were not as good as they were, Shirou's body would be more swords than flesh at this point. It might not be strong enough to stop the inevitable, but adding it to the existing seals would buy them more time.

Once she got back to the Hyuuga Clan compound, Rin was guided towards her grandfather. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate, she was the one walking at the front of the group, with the two Branch House members who had been sent to retrieve her following behind her. She walked with her arms crossed, her chin held high and a confident smile on her face. She was perhaps the only person in the entire village who would approach the Hyuuga elder in such a fashion.

Shirou probably would if told to, but he did put on an act to please others more than Rin did. Sakura would probably still be polite and respectful unless Rin's grandfather displeased her, and if he did she would let loose her darker side. Verbally, or not if he was foolish enough to escalate matters. Rin never hid her personality before, and she wasn't about to start. She didn't care that she was now a four-year-old again. She would never let anyone take advantage of her. She would never show weakness.

She found her grandfather in his study if it could be called that. It didn't have much research materials or any essential documents. Several of the books that lined the shelves were more of the recreational type. It was used as a showpiece rather than an actual study. Rin had been in several high ranking Magi's studies before, and none were as immaculate as her grandfather's.

"Good afternoon Oji-san. I hope you aren't tiring yourself out too much by seeing me. I've heard the elderly do need their bed rest," Rin said with a sickly sweet smile as she looked up towards her grandfather as he stood behind his desk, seeming to not care about the perfectly good chair behind him as he gazed down imposingly at his granddaughter. Rin ignored her grandfather's attempts at intimidating her as she just took a seat and made herself comfortable.

Rin wasn't actually sure what her grandfather's name even was. She didn't think she had ever heard of it throughout the pompous ceremonies that she went through on an almost monthly basis. Most in the clan called him the 'Honourable Elder'. So, she made fun of him for his age, even though he was in his early fifties at the latest. Like most nobles, he married young and had kids young. Still, his hair had some grey to it, and his face had that old man look to it as if worries of his time had worn him down.

"I understand that you went to that blacksmith boy's again, even though you were meant to accompany your father and mother to see the Daimyō," the man said with that grouchy voice of his.

"Hm... was I? I don't recall," Rin said, tapping a finger against her bottom lip. She had remembered very well, but she personally didn't like the flaky Lord, and she hated his 'clam basket' wife. Their heir was nice though, and they got along well enough. Honestly, if the heir was not visiting a friend, she might have gone with her parents.

Her grandfather glared at her. "Just like you don't recall your Taijutsu training again, and the fact that I had requested your presence at the clan meeting?" the older man said coldly.

"Oh, but Oji-san you did not offer me anything. If you request the service of someone, you need to offer something of equal value in return for that service. Or have you become so entitled in your old age that you feel yourself above the need for bartering. Sorry, but I'm not going to spoil you," Rin said in a chipper voice.

Rin would be the first one to admit that her father had a little bit of a stick up his ass, though he was a good man. Her grandfather, on the other hand, had more like an entire tree penetrating his butt hole. The two hadn't got along, and tension between them was always rising.

It stemmed from Rin's lack of interest in the clan. The very clan that he had bled for and seen the people close to him die for. When his wife had given birth to twins, he had marked one of his own sons as a baby with the Caged Bird Seal in order to prevent any question about the next Head of the clan that might form a divide in the clan and threaten it. Now his own granddaughter, the most talented Hyuuga to ever be born in the village, was brushing off her duties to the clan and the clan's stability."Rin, you have a duty to this clan. You will be the next head, and you must act accordingly. You do not get a choice in this matter," her grandfather said strictly.

"Is me becoming the next head of the clan worrying you? Maybe I should just step down then," Rin teased. "I'm sure Hinata-chan would be a much better Head than me anyways. She's so sweet and cute. I wouldn't mind following her."

The Hyuuga elder didn't smile in the slightest. "That is not possible. Hinata is being made a member of the Branch House," the man said sharply.

Rin froze, her Byakugan eyes flaring to life. The elder watched quietly as Rin scanned the entire household for her little sister, her smile gone and a look of urgency replacing it. "Where is she?" Rin asked, her voice now dead serious as she glared at her grandfather.

"She has been taken to be given the Caged Bird Seal," the elder said calmly. "You should not concern yourself with this. She has her fate, and you have yours. The two of you were always destined to be separated."

Rin and her grandfather's eyes met, and they simply stared at each other for a few long seconds. Then Rin's head fell. "I suppose you are right. It is a cruel fate to have me as an onee-san," she said sadly. The two Branch House members' eyes widened in shock with the admission, though if the elder was surprised he didn't show it. She slowly got up out of her seat. "If you would excuse me, I need some time to think about things. I'll be returning to my room," she said, giving a half bow before leaving.

The elder glanced at the two who had been sent to retrieve her and gave them a signal to escort the girl, to make sure she really did go to her room rather than running off. Nodding, the two quickly obeyed their clan elder.

Rin walked quickly, though with her short legs, the two Branch House members hardly had to struggle to keep up. They were a little shocked at the type of response the girl had.

When the elder had decided to place the seal on the younger sister in an attempt to make young Rin understand her place in the clan and her fate, they had been almost sure that when they told her she would react... differently.

They had crossed nearly the entire compound before she stopped walking.

"Is something the matter Rin-sama?" one of the two escorts asked her when she didn't make any sign of moving.

"Yes. Something is most definitely wrong," she said coldly, holding out a hand. The two guards saw something inside of the closed fist, something that was overflowing with chakra. She dropped the small red gem, which bounced a little on the ground as the energy sealed within it exploded out in a flash of light, momentarily stunning the two and starting to form a barrier around the group.

Rin took that opening to stab two Black Keys, given to her by Shirou and made smaller to accommodate her smaller form and for easier concealment, into their shadows, immobilizing them.

“What?!”

“How! Only the Naras can…”

Rin turned to the two and had that smile on her face, the one that made them shiver. "Would either of you happen to know where the Caged Bird Sealing takes place?" she asked in a honeyed tone.

“Rin-sama, you know we can’t tell you that,” one of her escorts told her regrettably. It was not like they did not sympathise, getting sealed was a fate they did not wish upon the kind young Hyuuga.

“Wrong answer.” Rin activated the magic circuits on her arm and blasted the man with a Gandr. The man spasmed, unable to move but was visibly suffering under the effects of the curse. Rin removed the Black Key holding him in place, letting him fall to the ground in the foetal position as he passed out. Oh, he would be just fine, but he was not getting up for a day or two.

Rin turned to the other guard, a woman in her late teens. She tensed, looking at her fallen partner then back at Rin.

Rin smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. “Now, let’s try this again. Where is my sister?”

The woman thought about her options. “Can you ensure that I do not get punished for defying the Elder?”

“Oh, I’m sure that the old man won’t do a thing. After all, he is but the elder, while my father is the clan head, the only one you should be listening to.”

‘We both know that is not strictly true,’ the immobile woman thought, thinking about the factions in the clan that still followed the Elder as if he was still the clan head. Mostly from the Main House but there were a few Branch House members who followed the Elder, mostly out of fear that things would get worse for the Branch House. “I cannot answer that. However, it would not be inadvisable to take a leisurely walk around the field behind the clan armoury.”

“Oh?” Rin was pleasantly surprised. She would have to make sure that she was not punished later, maybe even ask Sakura to bake her a cake later. For now, she had more pressing matters to attend to.

“Relax, you won’t feel a thing,” Rin put the woman under a subtle sleeping spell. Any magus, even Shirou, could break out of it in seconds. The kunoichi was no magus though, and she was not inclined to break it anyway. Seemed a less painful way to get taken out when compared to what her partner experienced. Besides, plausible deniability.

Rin gently placed her on the ground. Thankfully the method used to break out of a genjutsu did not work on magecraft otherwise this would be a bit more difficult. Now, where was the clan armoury again?

*Line Break*

It was a common mistake plenty of magi made while trying to build a secret workshop. They put so much time into perfecting their barriers to keep out prying eyes that they blind themselves in the process. Then they set up traps around the outside, not realizing that they might as well hang a giant neon sign over their heads.

The Hyuuga's secret sealing grounds were little more than a stone throw away from the main compound, hidden away in the field behind the clan armoury, just like the woman said. Of course, if anyone asked, she always knew where the sealing grounds were and merely knocked out her escorts before making her way here. No need to implicate the one who helped her after all.

Her skills with Reinforcement were not on Shirou's level. She hadn't dedicated years to perfecting that single skill to the point where she could dance on the edge of total destruction, but she could still get by and increase her agility by a fair amount. She went from tree to tree, her eyes picking out every single trap that had been set up to keep people out.

If she had stopped to think, she might have gone to fetch Shirou. The boy's senses weren't as precise as her eyes but while her eyes could spot a fly from a few kilometres away behind her head, it wasn't as helpful at picking up a trail left behind by something that has long since moved on. For that, Shirou's nose was a lot better. It might have gotten her there sooner or removed the need to question her clan members for the location. He would have also been handy as back up. However, the girl wasn't going to stop and think. She couldn't waste any time. Hinata needed her, and she wasn't going to fail this time.

So, she was alone when she reached the large grey stone building.

The place had been made to look like a security centre, but Rin wasn't fooled for a second. There were so many barriers placed on the stone, concealing the building from human senses, preventing even her eyes from seeing into the building.

The door was a nondescript wooden thing, until Rin actually touched it. A quick Structural Analysis told her that the door was actually steel with a wooden layer over it and was being reinforced with Earth Chakra, several seals acting as a feed to maintain its strength even under heavy attack. She recognized the style of the seals from the clan's own scrolls. This was the place.

It would normally take nothing less than an A-rank jutsu created with the intention of penetrating barriers and walls to destroy it in a timely manner, or some out of the box thinking.

Rin placed one finger on the door, moving it along the surface, drawing a sequence of runes with its tip as she chanted. "Be the hammer which splits apart the earth."

The runes she had traced became visible as she fed them with Od. She took a few steps back as the force shook the door and electric sparks jumped from rune to rune. Then, with a loud crack, the wood exploded as if struck by lightning, leaving a veil of smoke behind. Rin walked through the smoke without a second thought, not wanting to waste a moment.

“Ri…Rin-sama." The five members of the Hyuuga Clan Main Family who had been placed in charge of sealing the second daughter of the clan head were partially in fighting stances as they stared openly at Rin.

Rin didn't even hear them, her eyes were trained on only one thing, a young girl on a table. Hinata was asleep, most likely drugged for the sealing process. Rin could feel herself shaking with uncontrolled fury at the sight.

She pulled out two kunai and threw them straight at the two closest to her. The kunai were dodged, but they hadn't been meant to hit anyways, they just needed to transport the tags that were attached to the bottom by a short length of string.

They weren't explosive tags; Rin would never use something so dangerous near her precious little sister. However, that did not mean that they were there for cosmetic reasons. So right after the kunai's tips sank into the far wall, the seals opened up and a flood of chakra infused water came pouring out of them like from two fire hydrants, slamming into the clan members and staggering all of them.

The moment the kunai were out of her hands, Rin was already forming hand signs. Snake. Ram. Horse. Hare. Ram. Horse. Hare. "Water Release: Water Prison!" She finished her jutsu, clapping her hands together as she commanded the water. All of the water that had been shot out began to gather together around the five clan members, pushing them into a group before forming into a sphere around them, suspending them all and leaving them next to helpless.

Rin couldn't keep up the prison for long. Even if it was only a C-rank jutsu, her child's body had not reached the level where it could support a constant strain like that. But her plans didn't involve keeping them suspended forever.

Keeping her hands together to maintain the jutsu, she traced a rune on the ground with her right foot, giving it a bit of Od. The lightning rune was weak, but it didn't need to be strong, not when its targets were suspended in water. Bubbles escaped from throats as each of the five trapped clansmen's bodies shook under the electric shock. It wasn't strong enough to kill them, shinobi were significantly tougher than the humans of her old world, but none of them would be moving any time soon.

Releasing the water prison, Rin performed a second jutsu on the stunned enemies. Horse. Snake. Dragon. "Wind Release: Gale Palms!" As the prison of water fell apart, the five victims were hit by the concussive blast of wind, throwing them against the wall hard and knocking them unconscious.

With the shinobi disposed of, Rin rushed over to Hinata's side, having to climb up onto the table so that she could get a proper look at her little sister. She breathed a sigh of relief after she brushed aside some of the little girl's hair to see that her forehead was still unblemished. "Thank goodness," she said as she quietly patted the girl's head.

Hearing someone coughing up water, Rin turned her head back to the five clan members. One of them was trying to push himself, back up onto his hands and knees.

She recognized him. A third or fourth cousin from her father’s side. And more importantly, one of her grandfather’s followers.

Rin's anger returned in a flash. Rin gave the struggling man a kick to the chest, unable to dodge since he was still disoriented and stunned, knocking him to the ground.

Snake. Ram. Hare. Dragon. Tiger. Snake. “Earth Release: Earth Shackles!”

Earthen shackles formed on the downed man’s hands and feet. Rin further Reinforced the shackles to make sure that the man would not escape by sending his chakra to disrupt her jutsu. She put a foot down on the man’s chest, pressing down with strength that no four-year-old should have and causing the man to cough out water.

“I’m impressed. I did not think that anyone could stay conscious after all that.”

"Rin...sama... why?" the man gasped.

"I think I will be the one asking the questions here," Rin said, putting a bit more pressure on the man. "Tell me, who was it that ordered you to put the seal on my Hinata."

"The... elder. Your grandfather," the man said. Rin was not surprised.

"I see. Now tell me, who are you loyal to?"

"To... to the clan."

"Hm... alright then, between me, my father and the old man, who has your loyalty?"

"...I am loyal to the elder... ARRRGGGHHH!" the man screamed as Rin put a hand on his chest, sending out a pain curse.

"That was not what I wanted to hear," Rin said, her voice was completely void of emotion. "But if you are so loyal to that old fart, then deliver a message for me. Tell him that I will be the next head of this clan, and that if anyone lays a finger of my sister, I will use that power to end this clan. Do you understand?"

"Yes! Rin-sama!" the man cried as he struggled, trying to get out from underneath Rin's hand.

"Very good!" Rin said in a false cheer, before slamming the man's head against the ground, hard enough to knock him out. She ignored the blood coming from the back of the man's head as she returned to her little sister. Even if she had killed the others, it wouldn't matter to her. Nothing was more important than Hinata.

*Line Break*

Hinata felt more than a little numb as she slowly woke up. The small girl found herself back in her room, her older sister's arm draped over her as they shared a bed and blankets together.

"Onee-san..?" she said, her head hurting as she tried to organize her thoughts. A hand came up to her head as she tried to stop the room from spinning, but as her fingers touched her forehead she remembered what had happened. Her eyes started to tear up and she began to sob softly.

"Hinata-chan, what's the matter?" Rin asked, pushing herself up and rubbing at her eyes and giving an overly dramatic yawn.

"Onee-san... They... They were going to... And Oji-san... he said... that we weren't going to be sisters anymore," Hinata struggled to speak through her sobs.

"There, there, it’s okay," Rin said, pulling the three-year-old girl into a hug. "You were just having a bad dream. That’s all it was." She gently patted her sister's back as she gave her words of assurance. She would ensure that a bad dream was all it ever would be. Rin had decided to try to let Hinata believe that it had never happened. She wanted her sister to be unmarred by the events that had transpired.

Looking back over the day, there were so many things that Rin could have done differently. While the Caged Bird Seal was designed to kill the bearer if the seal was removed, it wasn't beyond Rin's skill to undo it without harming Hinata. Or she could have used Shirou's Rule Breaker to remove the seal.

Rin had always prided herself on her rationality. However, rationality had always gone out the window when her little sisters were involved. Throughout the Holy Grail War, Rin had acted irrationally countless times for the sake of sister, Sakura.

She had revived Shirou not out of some sort of guilt for the death of the innocent, or because she had anything for him at the time. She had spent valuable resources and revived him because he had been someone precious to Sakura. Then, when he turned out to be a master, she had allied herself with him to keep him alive for her.

She had tried to fight a Caster Servant by herself in order to protect her sister. She would have let herself be killed to keep her safe. All sorts of things that were simply irrational, but she did them.

Then a year later, she found out what the Matous were doing to Sakura and she lost it. Shirou had to calm her down so that they could plan rationally on how to save Sakura. Her retribution ended the Matou line, for good. The two of them ensured that every last one of Zouken’s Crest Worms was incinerated and that no stone was left unturned.

Even so, she had always felt that she hadn't done enough for Sakura. She should have done more. She should have found a way to prevent all those horrible things that happened to her. Again, irrational thoughts, but she still felt that way. She would never let anything happen to Hinata, nor would she allow anything to separate them. She didn't care if her grandfather did run the clan like a cult, she wouldn't let him touch Hinata.

"Don't worry, your onee-san will never let anything happen to you. I'll make sure you are always safe. I promise," Rin whispered, as she rocked Hinata back to sleep.

*Line Break*

Hiashi was not happy. He had just returned home from a meeting with the Daimyo and was hoping to unwind after the usual politics involved when visiting the court of the nation’s capital. And to hand a letter written by their heir for his own eldest daughter. How his rebellious daughter managed to strike up a friendship with the next Fire Daimyo was beyond him but potentially very beneficial to the clan.

He had been home for a few hours before he finally found out what had happened, and it had not been from one of his clan. He had gotten a report from the hospital about the condition of the clan members his four-year-old daughter had half-drowned, electrocuted and given concussions. Then there were the two members who physically appeared unharmed but would not wake up no matter what the medics did.

After getting the full story, he had nearly gone down to the hospital to finish the bastards off for what they had tried while he was away. Only the gentle words of his wife, Hailyn, had dissuaded him from taking such extreme actions. That, and the knowledge that they were only just pawns.

"Otou-sama, would you care explaining to me why you felt the need to arrange for my daughter to be given the seal in my absence?" Hiashi asked his father. An entire lifetime of subservience was being strained by parental instinct, he and his wife cornered the elder in order to demand answers.

To his credit, or maybe against all reason, the elder was not showing any signs of remorse or embarrassment. He just stood with the exact same look on his face that he always had. "Do not act like this was a dramatic action. Sooner or later, Hinata would have been removed from the main family. That is simply her fate."

"Removed, maybe, but it has never been the tradition to give the daughters of the main family the Caged Bird Seal," Hailyn said with an uncommon frown on her face.

It was true, as the blood of the main family was purer, it was considered too important to squander with the seal. Usually, the daughters of the Main House would be made to marry in order to help keep the clan alive.

"Even if her fate was to be separated, you chose to act far too early, and without my permission. Do remember that you passed the headship of the clan to me on my thirtieth birthday, or is your memory going?" Hiashi said, reminding his father who was the clan's head. "So, explain yourself."

"What is there to explain that you don't already know? Your eldest daughter is out of control. We need to have a way to bring her into line. I am sure you are familiar with the concept of a 'whipping boy'." The elder's words made both parents tense up.

The meaning was clear. With the Caged Bird Seal, the head of the clan, or anyone who was a member of the Main House, could induce horrible pain with just a thought. The elder was planning on controlling the rebellious Rin by inflicting pain on Hinata every time the girl disobeyed.

"How could you even think of doing that to your own granddaughters!?" Hailyn half-shouted in her shock.

The elder closed his eyes. "I do not do so joyously, but I have resigned myself to my fate. As one who was once head of the clan, I must do whatever it takes in order to protect the clan. Do not curse me for the role that Hinata was born into."

Hiashi frowned, something about what he had said felt off. Then, a sudden thought popped into his head. A thought that had never accrued to him ever before. It seemed so simple now that he had thought of it. 'Can fate be changed?' It was something that went against all of the clan's teachings. They said that one was born into a position in the world, and that position would guide them till their eventual end.

According to the elder, Hinata had been born to act as a tool for the Main House. But with Rin's ultimatum, any action to use Hinata in such a manner would cause the end of the clan. And he believed her, Rin was smart enough to plan their demise and her friend could no doubt forge any tools that she required to do so. Her friendship with the Jounin Commander’s niece would also ensure that any plan she came up with could be looked over and improved by the best strategist in the village. That man was feared, not for his combat prowess, which was still nothing to scoff at, but the fact that his plans often led to maximum destruction for his enemies with minimal casualties for Konoha.

Fate. That one word that could sum up the clan’s entire mindset. The reason he became estranged with his own twin until his daughter managed to bring them both closer again. That one word that almost had his younger daughter sealed. Suddenly, all the things that Hiashi had followed blindly in his life were called into question.

The things that his father had said were fate had always happened before, but was that because they were fate, or because his father had made them happen. Had the events which he had seen as the acts of fate all been just a way of rationalizing their actions. Were they just telling themselves that they were not to blame because they were only the instruments of fate?

"You are no longer the clan head, I am. Matters involving the good of the clan will not be decided by you alone, and you are not to involve yourself with my daughters without my consent," Hiashi said, turning to leave. "You are no longer welcome in my home. I will have the servants move your belongings to one of the spare houses in the compound and cater to your needs. After recent events, consider yourself on thin ice, otou-san," he added, purposely changing the honorific right before leaving. His wife threw a cold look at the older man as she followed her husband out.

"The nerve of that man!" Hailyn said when they were in their bedroom, brisling with a mother's righteous anger. "How dare he think of doing that to any child, let alone his own granddaughters..!"

Hiashi only nodded along, half-listening to his wife's rant. He was still thinking, thinking hard about all the times he had made a discussion in his life. Thinking about what would have happened if he had chosen something he felt was more right rather than following 'fate'. How different would the world be?

Finally, he decided something. "Hailyn," he said quietly, causing his wife to stop talking. "I am going to try to do it. I am going to try to change our fate."

The woman's eyes widened. She looked at her husband as if he had just sprouted another head. Hiashi wasn't surprised. Even he hardly believed the words that had come out of his mouth. But he would do it. For his daughters, for the entire clan, he would fight their fate.

Suddenly, life felt as if it had more meaning.

**< Omake> **

Sakura looked over her work and bit down on the back of her pen. A nervous habit and something she should really stop doing. The cause of her stress? The notebook in her hand that she was using to write in.

‘Should I publish this? What would senpai think? Oh, he will think that I’m some kind of loose girl!’ Sakura panicked in the sanctity of her own mind. Well, not really.

**‘What do you mean? It’s just a book? Besides, I’m sure he won’t think any less of us,’** BB said.

‘I know, but why did Kama have to leave _this_ behind in my head?’

Kama and Parvati, two Hindu gods, still worshipped by millions and two gods with whom she shared her body to save humanity. Both of whom have left behind quite a bit of knowledge and skills that she could use.

She could not invoke their divine based abilities, but there was still plenty that she could use. That, and knowledge on how certain Indian magecraft worked along with… knowledge that she really wished they took with them when they left.

**‘What’s so bad about it? It’s just a guide to living life well,’** BB asked.

‘You know as well as I do about the part where most people focus on when thinking about this book,’ Sakura replied.

**‘OK, so it’s a guide to living life well that includes sex. Lots of sex along with positions that I’m not sure are physically possible unless you’re really flexible.’**

Sakura’s traitorous mind filled her head with images of what she could use that knowledge for. Scenes of an adult her and Shirou re-enacting what was in the book. Her face burned.

**‘Oh, yeah. I can’t wait for us to grow up! Stupid child body and second puberty…’**

‘Still, should I publish this?’

**‘Why not? It’s not like we couldn’t use the cash. Want to bet that we sell over a million copies within a month?’**

‘Ah, why not. Besides, I’m sure that it won’t sell that well. I mean, the whole world can’t be filled with perverts after all?’

“Line Break*

And so, Sakura published her book. Within a month of its release, the publisher had to print out even more copies to meet demand. Within a year, the Kama Sutra had sold more copies than the entire Icha Icha Series combined. Divorce statistics went down and married couples led much happier marriages after buying a copy of the book.

As for the author of the book? Well, she was so mortified by her book’s success that she never revealed who she really was and never attended book signings despite her publisher’s urging.

What did her friends think? Well, Shirou did not really see what the fuss was all about while Rin focused more on the millions that Sakura had made with just one book. She absolutely did not want to think about what went on in her sister’s head.

Nara Shikaku drank himself into a stupor and somehow managed to convince himself that Sakura was not the author of the widely popular book. He had found the original manuscript in his house that even had his niece’s name on it. He was still in denial a year later, even as the royalties kept coming in.

Jiraiya cried to himself when he first read the book. “I am not worthy! I must find the author of this holy text and learn their ways! On my honour as a Super Pervert, I will not rest until I have mastered everything that they have to teach!”

Safe to say, he never did find out who the author was, but his writing skills improved greatly, much to the delight of his fans.

**I would like to remind everyone that the omakes are not necessarily canon. Still fun to write though. If anyone is offended by my using that book, I apologize. But you have to admit, it’s plausible especially since Sakura was the host of not one, but two Hindu gods of love.**

**Also, I left who the Fire Daimyo’s heir was vague on purpose. Said heir will show up later in the story, after I finish using up all of the original story, which should not be too long now.**

**I hope you all enjoyed reading this. Leave a review if you did or have criticism. Do try not to be overtly rude about it though.**

**Stay safe, It's a crazy world out there after all.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Sigh. I have decided on something important. And that is to not let your comments and reviews affect me. Sure, I still read all of them, but I have decided not to let them get me down.**

**So, continue to leave a comment or review, but this story is still my story and nothing other people say will change that.**

**Anyway, on to other news. My FGO went to hell a few days ago and I had to start all over again from Singularity F with none of my rolled servants.**

**At least I managed to get Valkyrie, twice. And in three days, I have managed to finish halfway up to Septem with most of my favourite new servants at or near level thirty.**

**Betaed by Danga.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 7

Three four-year-olds stared at each other while nearby, their older siblings, or adopted older sibling in one case, looked on in amusement. Further away, Konoha’s resident snake mistress watched the show with amusement as she snacked on Sakura’s chocolate chip cookies. This was neither the first time either Rin or Sakura had brought their younger siblings over, but this was the first time that they had visited after Shirou more or less adopted Naruto.

Shirou sighed. Rin was right. He just did not have it in him to kill an innocent little boy for something that he had no control over. And honestly, he was very glad that he had not jumped the gun all those weeks ago.

It was now July, just a month after they turned five and nearly two weeks since he almost made the worst mistake of his new life. After finding out about Naruto’s tenant, the three of them had researched what material they had access to regarding the Tailed Beasts.

Anko found out about it, not that they had tried very hard to hide it from her. She was a part of the Intelligence Division’s best field operatives and interrogators for a reason. If it was not for their ability to talk and write in several different languages, they would not have been able to hide anything from her.

She had tensed at first, asking them who had told them. That had caused a raised eyebrow from them as if it was supposed to be a secret, it was not a well-kept one. Honestly, even if you discounted their unique sense for mystical energies, all anyone had to do was follow the boy when he went to the market, note the various glares and insults thrown his way, note the fact that the boy had an ANBU guard detail, dig out his birth certificate which clearly said that he was born on a certain fateful day, and make a conclusion.

Though in their defence, his ANBU guards were well hidden with their exceptional stealth abilities and using various techniques to hide their presence from even chakra sensors. However, his nose, Rin’s eyes and Sakura’s ability to sense people made them out easily.

Anko had sighed at their answer, muttering something about child geniuses, before telling them to sit tight as she went to get authorization from the Hokage. An hour later, the three of them, along with Nara Shikaku and Hyuuga Hiashi were having tea with the Hokage in his house.

That had been an interesting talk. Though it did clarify many of their questions regarding Naruto. It was a great relief to know that his seal would not suddenly break and unleash several hundred tons of angry fox demon, or at least not without sufficient warning that they could not do anything about it. Not that he did not have several demon-slaying swords ready just in case. Though many of the answers they received merely raised more questions for them.

For one, why Naruto? Why was he chosen? Did he have a special Bloodline that made him the ideal jailer? Who were his parents? And why does everyone above the age of eighteen know about his status?

Well, either way, that meeting ended with Naruto being a permanent resident of his house while Anko bemoaned having even more brats to babysit.

Of course, Rin was not willing to take the Hokage at his word and soon after the adults left, they had snuck a look at Naruto’s seal as he took a nap after a gruelling training regimen that he had come up with for him. The boy wanted to be a shinobi, might as well start his training now before he was old enough to join the Academy. What they found was academically interesting, at least according to Rin.

She had concluded that no, the seal on Naruto’s stomach was not powered by the Shinigami. The other interesting thing that she had gleaned from the seal was that it had a way of strengthening itself with a key. Perhaps that was why the Hokage was so confident that the Fox would not be able to escape, though who was in possession of said key was a mystery to them.

There were two different chakra signatures in the seal as well. Likely safety measures put in place by the Yondaime and his wife in case the seal weakened and the Kyuubi started to escape. How they would stop the fox from escaping still eluded them.

The final, and perhaps most alarming thing was that the seal was meant to allow Naruto access to the Fox’s chakra. In fact, the demonic chakra was leaking out into Naruto’s own at a steady flow, gradually increasing Naruto’s own reserves. When he was older, Naruto would be an absolute monster when it came to chakra capacity alone, though his control would suffer according to Rin.

It took a while as the two of them got used to living with each other, the demon’s constant presence among his senses was not helping. After a few weeks of having Naruto living with him, he eventually got used to it and learned to ignore the demonic aura he could sense from him. Of course, both Rin and Sakura kept their younger siblings from his house until they were absolutely sure that it was safe.

So here they were now, introducing Naruto to some kids that were his age.

Shikamaru was the first to break the silence at his sister’s encouraging look. He could never deny her no matter how hard he tried. That, and he was being bribed with cookies and shogi games. “Sigh, troublesome. I’m Shikamaru, nice to meet you.”

Hinata, seeing the young Nara break the ice, introduced herself as well. She was still shy, having never met anyone her own age within her clan except for Neji-nii, let alone outside of it. “Ano, h-hello. My… my name is Hinata. Nice to meet you.”

Rin sighed. She was still working on getting rid of Hinata’s stutter when talking with new people. It was a work in progress.

Naruto was about to introduce himself as well. Opening his mouth to give what was no doubt going to be a loud and boisterous introduction, a glare from Rin reminded him about the manners and indoor voice she had ‘taught’ him.

“Ah, hello. My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Nice to meet you!”

Rin felt her eyebrow twitch as Sakura patted her on the back comfortingly. At least he remembered to be polite. Shirou shot Rin an apologetic look. Correcting some of Naruto’s less polite habits was still an ongoing lesson. It did not help with how he was brought up before this.

Which is to say, not at all.

There was an awkward silence as none of the three younger children knew how to proceed. Shikamaru was too lazy, Hinata too shy and Naruto had no idea what to do, this was his first-time making friends his own age after all.

Shirou sighed. “Why don’t you three go play Ninja in the park nearby? The three of us have something we have to talk about.”

Shikamaru shot him a suspicious glare. He still was not sure about Shirou despite having known him for months. Stupid sister stealing pinky. He may have had his sister and his friends fooled, but he was sure that there was more to him than meets the eye. “What kind of talk and why can’t we be part of it?”

Naruto butted in and pointed an accusing finger at the three five-year-olds. “Yeah! You three are always going off to talk about something and when I’m around, you change to that weird made-up language you three know!”

Rin poked the boys on their foreheads. “Older sibling stuff! Now go have some fun. We did not bring the three of you together just to listen to what your nee-sans and nii-san want to talk about. Now shoo!”

Hinata, bless her kind soul, was too nice to add anything but she did pout at them. Like any other child, she disliked it when she was told that she was too young to know or do something.

“I’ll bake you all some brownies later, what do you say?” Sakura bribed. Shikamaru wavered along with his, presumably, new friends. His nee-chan’s chocolate treats were to die for. He was already anticipating the declarations of love from the Akimichi boys that were around their age. He was pretty sure that his old man had a bet with Chouza-oji on how many of his clan’s children would propose. Stupid nee-chan and her divine baking. Those treats should be his and his alone.

Not surprisingly, Naruto was the first to crack. While he would never betray his precious ramen, Sakura’s baked treats were almost as good at motivating him as the noodles. To his dismay, Shirou limited his intake of both ramen and Sakura’s baked treats, saying something about too much sugar and a balanced diet or something. Blech! Why did he have to eat his veggies when he could have one of Sakura-nee’s cookies?

“Come on! Let’s go play!” The energetic blond dragged the two other kids out the door by their hands.

“Heh! Slow down!”

“Eep!”

The door slammed shut as the three actual children went to play in the summer afternoon.

“Well, they’re gone,” Rin said as she checked with her Byakugan.

“Great,” Anko said. “Now, what did you three want to talk to me about? I know for a fact that if you three wanted to talk in private, you would have just reverted to that secret language of yours. You two brought your little siblings to get the blond brat out of the house, not just to get him to make friends with them. Now spill.”

“Were we that obvious?” Sakura asked, pouring some tea that she had prepared.

“No one has managed to break your secret code yet. The current one I mean, not the one I gave the Intelligence Division to decipher as a bet,” Anko said, accepting a cup of tea from Sakura. “If you three wanted to keep whatever you wanted to talk about private, no one will be able to understand you.”

Well, she had a point. Whenever the three of them needed to talk about something but were unable to get privacy, they used English. The code they gave Anko to use as a bet was written in Arabic, one of the languages he was fluent in. According to Anko, it was still being worked on by the Cryptanalysis Team in their spare time. It had been three months since they gave it to Anko. Between the three of them, they had maybe a dozen languages that they could use aside from Japanese, some of which all three were fluent in, like English and Mandarin Chinese along with several that only one of them was fluent in.

Shirou could speak and write in Arabic, French, English and Russian. Rin in German, Spanish, Italian and ancient Sumerian. Sakura in Hindi, Tamil and Malay. The three of them were never going to run out of languages they could use and could always teach each other any language that they weren’t fluent in.

“Alright,” Rin sighed. “We wanted to ask you about the cursed seal you have on your neck.”

“What cursed seal? It’s just a tattoo,” Anko replied. She acted normal, as if they were mistaking her tattoo on her neck for something more sinister in nature. Her face was the picture of normal, as if they had not just asked about one of the worst moments of her life. Most kids, even geniuses would have been fooled.

Problem was, the three of them were neither actually their physical age nor were they unused to people putting up a mask. That, and they could sense the malicious energy coming out of it. Now that Naruto was no longer in the same building, Shirou could detect the cursed seal on Anko’s neck as clear as a black dot on a white canvas.

Rin gave her a deadpanned look. “Do you really think that we would bring this up if we weren’t sure that it was indeed a cursed seal?”

Anko sighed. “Well, it was worth a try. You three already know one S-rank secret, what’s another? How did you brats spot it anyway? I usually keep it hidden under my collar.”

“Anko-nee, we have lived together for nearly a year now,” Shirou said in a voice so bland that he might as well be talking about the weather. “In that time, you have had absolutely no problem walking around in nothing but a towel or with just a large shirt on, even if we were having guests over. Did you really think I would never notice, or that Sakura and Rin would not notice? We’ve known about it for months. We only held off asking you about it because we wanted to be sure about it, and then Naruto happened. You know the rest.”

“Damn it. I forgot that the three of you are observant and too smart for your own good,” Anko groaned. “Alright, what do you want to know about it?”

Privately, she was worried that Shirou would ask her to leave. Oh, her rational mind told her that was unlikely, her observations telling her that Shirou was not that kind of person. But, she had lost too many friends, people who she had once thought were her friends, after Orochimaru turned traitor and branded her with his cursed seal. Sure, not all of them shunned her, some of them even did their best to help her, but it still hurt and had left its mark on her.

Shirou noticed the direction that her mind was headed and decided to ease her concerns. “Anko-nee, this doesn’t change anything. We were just curious about it. I won’t ask you to leave or anything.”

Sakura moved over to give Anko a comforting hug. She of all people would know what she probably went through. She used to have nightmares of Shirou and Rin rejecting her after what Zouken did to her. Sure, her fears were entirely unfounded, but emotions were rarely rational.

Anko grumbled something about them ruining her reputation but did not fight Sakura’s hug and her eyes were suspiciously moist. “You still haven’t told me why you wanted to talk to me about it.”

“Isn’t it obvious? We want to take a look at it,” Rin answered.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What do you mean by that? I’m not going to let you three mess around with it! Not after all the effort, I’ve made in keeping it under wraps!” Anko exclaimed.

Rin scoffed. “As if I would ever mess up something like that. No, all I want to do is to look at it. I promise that we won’t do anything to it without your permission.”

Anko still looked uneasy, which was perfectly understandable to Shirou. After all, he would feel uncomfortable as well if Rin asked to take a dive into his soul to figure out how he was able to manifest a Reality Marble, not that she had asked.

“Come on,” Rin pleaded. “Who knows? We might even figure out how to get rid of it for you.”

“What could you three find that the Hokage and the village’s best seal master didn’t already?” Anko asked.

“We’ll never know if we don’t try now will we? Besides, if I can discover more about this seal than either the Hokage or this seal master, then wouldn’t that give you something to hold over them?” Rin replied.

“Well,” Anko contemplated. “I supposed that it couldn’t hurt. So long as I can see what you are doing.”

“We already have the room and mirrors set up,” Rin said, pleased that Anko had agreed. It was this or drugging her though she doubted that it would work. She was a skilled poison user after all and she could not get her hands on the drugs that the hospital used, the only stuff that poison users didn’t make themselves immune to. After all, who wants to be awake when you’re going through surgery?

The four of them made their way to Rin’s workshop. Rin’s workshop was one of his old guestrooms that no longer saw use now that he stopped renting them out. It was filled with a table where she did all her experiments and cabinets where she stored her research notes. There was a cupboard as well where she kept her ingredients for her experiments. It was also a mess, or as Rin would call it, organized in a way where she could get whatever she needed with minimal fuss.

In the middle of the room, was a large mirror that she had taken from her bedroom. There was a smaller, handheld mirror there as well.

“Now, if you would sit right here. Perfect! Now, let’s have a look at this cursed seal of yours,” Rin said excitedly. Finally, she would have a chance to examine one of this world’s cursed seals up close and personal.

The three of them leaned in to inspect the seal on the back of Anko’s neck. With Anko sitting down, the three five-year-olds were barely taller than her. It was a deceptively ordinary-looking seal, three tomoe in a circular pattern, not dissimilar to the one on the Sharingan. One could mistake it for a tattoo if they did not know what to look for. Looking past the outer layer, they began really looking into the mechanisms of the cursed seal.

“This is one foul seal,” Rin said after a moment with Sakura and Shirou nodding in agreement.

“What? All I can see is the three of you staring at it,” Anko said. She could see what they were doing using the mirrors. 

“Rin, is that?” Sakura asked, pointing to one part of the seal. She was not as good as Rin, having not devoted as much time as Rin had with Fuinjutsu, but with Structural Analysis and her access to the Nara clan library, she still knew more about seals than the majority of the village’s shinobi.

Shirou had learned more about fuinjutsu as well, thinking that it would be useful in his forging. He was even considering how to add it to his combat style. Right now, he was using all his acquired knowledge about the shinobi art to break down Anko’s seal. It was not pretty.

“Yeah, it is,” Rin confirmed then switched to English. _“Shirou, do you think that Rule Breaker could do anything about this?”_

“Maybe,” Shirou said, grimacing as his eyes took in all there was to see about Anko’s seal. It was really a testament to her strength that she survived it at all. “But how would we contain it afterwards?”

“What?!” Anko asked. The Sandaime and Jiraiya had not really gone into detail about her seal, mostly because they could barely understand the first few layers of it. All they had told her was that using it was bad for her, not surprising and that it had some function that they were as of now still unsure of.

“There’s some of the sealer’s chakra in your seal,” Rin said, not taking her eyes off the seal.

“Yeah, I already knew that,” Anko replied.

“Let me rephrase that,” Rin said. “There’s an imprint of the sealer’s soul in the seal. The sealer could theoretically revive himself using your seal.”

“WHAT!!!” Anko got up in her shock. “Are you serious?!”

“Yes, now sit back down before I have Sakura hold you still,” Rin grumbled as Anko complied so they could continue to examine the seal. “It’s not developed enough for them to revive themselves without outside help anyway. There’s also a component that converts Natural Energy into usable energy for the bearer. Fascinating. How are you not dead or a stone statue right now? Oh, I see.”

“Rin, there’s this corruptive component here,” Sakura pointed out. “How is it being held back with nothing in between it and Anko?”

“She’s holding it back via sheer will,” Shirou added. “Though why didn’t anyone add something to block it off? It’s doable and wouldn’t compromise the cursed seal.”

“How are you three doing this?” Anko asked, bewildered. “You’ve figured out in minutes what took the Hokage and Jiraiya hours of work. You’ve even told me things about it that I’m not sure that they know?!”

Rin scoffed. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m a genius after all.”

*In Chaldea, or a certain vehicle, I’ll let you decide*

A gender confused Renaissance (wo)man felt as if someone had just stolen her/his line. Shrugging, she/he went back to designing Mystic Codes for Ritsuka.

*Line Break*

“Yeah, because that tells me everything,” Anko said.

_“Rule Breaker could, theoretically, nullify it,”_ Shirou said to the two in English. _“But that still doesn’t solve what we would do after. The soul inside it will have to be dealt with as well.”_

_“Don’t you have anything that can destroy souls?”_ Rin asked.

Shirou thought about it. _“Gae Dearg might be able to do it. It does sever all ties with magical energy after all, which is what a soul without a body consists of. If I can find an anti-spirit weapon, that might be better.”_

_“Can’t you Trace Gray-san’s scythe? She did use it to kill several spirits easily,”_ Sakura suggested.

_"Even with my increased capabilities, I don't think I even have the reserves to even attempt such a thing,"_ Shirou said hastily after Sakura’s suggestion.

_“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here,”_ Rin cautioned. _“This will put a target on our heads if anyone ever found out that we could, theoretically, remove a seal that many had deemed unremovable. Well, a bigger target anyway.”_

The Hyuuga clan had horror stories of attempted bloodline theft dating from the Warring Clans Era. While other parents told their children bedtime stories, Hyuuga children went to bed listening to tales of various attempts, all failed of course, of their enemies to steal away one of their young. Not the greatest bedtime story but it got the message across.

Sakura was the niece of Konoha’s Jonin Commander. Holding her hostage was a sure-fire way to get Shikaku to comply with her hostage takers demands. Considering the fact that Shikaku had very high security clearance and was privy to almost every operation ever conducted by Konoha’s General Forces and some collaboration with ANBU Black Ops, that was a serious security risk. Though both Rin and Shirou pitied any would be kidnappers more than they feared for Sakura. BB was not known for playing nice with anyone she didn’t like.

As for Shirou, well he had it easier. The fact that he could forge legendary weapons was still a village secret. Though it meant that he was an asset that other villages would do their utmost best to deny Konoha or take for themselves.

Long story short, all three of them had targets on themselves and placing an even bigger one on themselves before they could actually have a winning chance against their enemies was a not good idea. Konoha’s counter-intelligence was first class, but better safe than sorry.

_“Hmm, we’ll have to do some more research into this anyway,”_ Shirou said. _“I’m not comfortable with doing anything to this cursed seal unless we’re really sure we can remove it without any repercussions to Anko.”_

“Are you three done talking to yourselves yet?” Anko asked annoyed. She knew for a fact that they were talking about her cursed seal. Problem was that even after all this time, she still couldn’t understand the language they were currently talking in.

Shirou gave Rin a questioning look, wordlessly asking if they should tell her. Doing so would reveal his ability to create weapons of incredible power after all.

“We, in theory, might have figured out a way to free you of this seal,” Rin said slowly.

“You… you do?” Anko asked with hope in her eyes. After Jiraiya had outright said that doing so was beyond his abilities, she had all but lost hope that she would ever be free from Orochimaru’s taint. Knowing that she was harbouring part of Orochimaru’s soul made her even more determined to get rid of it.

“But,” Rin continued, “we’re not sure if we should.”

“What! Why?” Anko despaired. How could they give her hope then take it away just as quickly? 

“Well for one,” Rin said, unperturbed by Anko’s despair. “It would put an even bigger target on our heads than we already have. Honestly, being the heiress of a noble clan, niece of the Jonin Commander and a blacksmith that can forge legendary weapons means that the three of us can never leave the village without someone wanting us dead or kidnapped as a hostage. What do you think Orochimaru would do if he found out we got rid of his supposedly unremovable seal?”

Anko could see it. She was given this assignment for a reason. And that was to act as Shirou’s guard in case the other shinobi villages found out about his skills as a blacksmith and decided they wanted him for themselves or dead. There was a really good reason that clan shinobi were put under a seasoned and skilled Jounin when they graduated as Genin. To act as a deterrent and keep their students safe from those who would seek to deprive Konoha of its vaunted clans.

There was a reason that the Senju clan was no longer as strong as it used to be, and that was because Senju children were frequently targeted in the days of the First and Second Shinobi World Wars. What better way to weaken a village known for its powerful clans than to kill them before they could grow to become a threat.

“And we’re not sure if our method is even feasible yet,” Sakura said apologetically. She understood the feeling of wanting to be free of a perceived taint on herself. She was still unable to be in the same space as an Aburame without fidgeting, despite knowing for a fact that the Aburame clan was as different from Zouken as they could be despite also using bugs as their primary technique.

“I think we’ve learned all we could from just looking at it,” Shirou said, getting a nod of agreement from Rin. Unless they actually interacted with the seal, this was all that they could learn from it. Structural Analysis was a useful ability, but it had its limits.

“Sigh. Well at least you three have told me more about this damn seal than Jiraiya-sama ever did,” Anko said as she stood up. “But enough about my seal, let’s talk about something else!”

“Oh? Like what?” Rin asked as they walked back to the living room. Sakura was heading for the kitchen, she had to get started on those brownies she promised Shikamaru, Hinata and Naruto.

“Like a certain book our aspiring baker just published last month,” Anko said with the largest grin on her mouth. Sakura dropped the pan she was taking out as she hid her face into her hands.

“Did you three really think that I wouldn’t find out about your fake identity which you use to publish books? I’m one of the best intelligence operatives that this village has, despite being under twenty. Of course, I would find out!” Anko told them.

“So, are you going to do anything about it?” Rin asked worriedly. That was a major source of money that she needed for her continued magecraft research. Shirou’s ‘King Arthur’ adapted for this world with samurai and shinobi instead of knights was a big hit among the young adult community. Shirou could live off the revenues from the current sales easily for the rest of his life.

Then there was Sakura’s book. Enough said. Fortunately, Anko did not question how a five-year-old had such detailed knowledge of… adult activities. Then again, shinobi. They were all weird in the head and had skewed perceptions on what was normal for a child to know or do.

“Nah,” Anko waved off. “The Hokage won’t do anything about it and neither will Shikaku-sama. As far as they’re concerned, if you three are smart enough to make money before hitting double digits, you’re smart enough to spend it responsibly. Though, Shikaku-sama’s face whenever someone brings up the Kama Sutra! What does the title even mean anyway? Or are you already preparing for when Shirou-chan has seasoned a bit? I can tell that he’ll be quite the catch in another decade or so.”

And so, Anko went on to tease the three mercilessly about their clandestine money-making schemes as Sakura baked with Shirou’s help. Thank the kami for their pre-prepared excuses.

*Line Break* 

Naruto, Shikamaru and Hinata were playing in the park near Shirou’s house. Well, trying to anyway. Shikamaru was just lying there, cloud watching. Hinata was too shy to play without being invited first. Naruto, well…

“Come on!” Naruto said loudly to an unmoving Shikamaru. “Let’s play!”

“Go away,” Shikamaru mumbled out. Why was he doing this again? Oh right, for brownies. Damn his weakness for his nee-chan’s brownies.

*Line Break*

In one of the trees that filled the park, a purple-haired ANBU agent watched on, bored out of her mind. She was taking the routine ‘Naruto watch’ assignment this time, her partner on the other side of the three children, both here to protect Naruto from any would be assailants or kidnappers.

Normally, she looked forward to these assignments, since they kept her close to the village, and thus close to her cute little niece. But they did get tedious. Outside of a few drunks who tried their luck, Naruto was generally left alone by the majority of the village’s population. Which was a good thing to be sure, but it did mean they spent most of their day watching a four-year-old go about his day while unable to help out the poor kid from the non-physical abuse laid out by the civilians.

All of that changed when Shirou took in the poor boy. It made their job a lot easier and the boy was finally receiving the proper care that a growing child needed. Though the fact that it had to come from a child just a year older than him was something that she took issue with. That the child was her niece’s friend was another.

Though there were unexpected benefits during these assignments. Free lunch for one. She had heard many of her colleagues complaining in the barracks about Shirou, Rin and her niece always knowing where they were and sending Naruto to where they were with a bento. Not that they were against the free lunch that they were being given. Her niece and her friend could cook, better than an Akimichi housewife even.

Sigh, Yugao, currently ANBU Cat, hoped that the kids would just do something already, otherwise this would be another boring assignment. What did Sakura-chan want to talk to her friends about anyway that was so secretive? She was keeping so many secrets from her these days. Did she not trust her? Was she becoming too distant with her? When was her next leave again? She would need to schedule some aunt-niece time for them. 

No, wait! That might clash with her time with Hayate! He would understand, maybe they could make it an outing for all three of them? That sounded like a good idea.

Oh? It seemed Naruto was approaching a group of children who were playing nearby. Well, at least they were finally doing something.

“Line Break*

“Hey! Can we play with you?” Naruto asked a group of three older boys who were playing nearby loudly.

“Why would we want to play with you?” one asked.

“Hey, isn’t that the kid mom said we shouldn’t talk to?”

“What a runt!”

Naruto felt great anger and humiliation at the way the older boys were treating him. He rushed who he believed was their leader, intent on giving him a piece of his mind.

Unfortunately for Naruto, the boy was older and bigger than him. Even with Shirou starting to train him, the difference in size and strength was too great.

The older boy easily knocked Naruto down, then held him up by his shirt.

“Let me go!” Naruto yelled.

“Oh yeah? Make me!” the older boy taunted.

“Boss, I think the runt needs to be taught a lesson,” the third boy said.

“Yeah,” the second agreed. “Let’s rough him up a bit!”

The leader grinned as Naruto closed his eyes for the beating that was no doubt coming.

Suddenly, Naruto felt himself falling to the ground as the bully loosened his grip on Naruto’s shirt. Naruto turned to see Shikamaru having captured the bully in his clan’s Shadow Possession Jutsu.

“Hey!” the bully said. “What are you doing!? Let go of me!”

“Normally I wouldn’t get involved in these kinds of things,” Shikamaru said blandly as he hid the strain he was feeling. He was still young, and his father had just started his training in the clan’s shadow techniques. “But I can’t just let you go about bullying my friend. My nee-chan would be so disappointed in me.”

“Yeah?” one of the boy’s friends said as the other two moved forward. “There’s three of us and only two of you.”

Shikamaru knew that it was taking all he had to hold onto one of them. He would not be able to stop the other two.

The second boy made to punch Shikamaru, Naruto still shocked that Shikamaru would defend him and was unable to help him. He didn’t have to.

“Arghh!!!” The second boy was sent to the ground by Hinata as she took him down in one strike. She didn’t use her clan’s Gentle Fist, that would have been overkill, but she was still the best fighter among the children there, her upbringing and training with her sister saw to it.

“Leave them alone!” Hinata said fiercely without stuttering over a single word. Uncharacteristic of the shy Hyuuga but her friends were being threatened and she had to do something. Her activated Byakugan added to her frightening image, scaring the bullies. 

The bullies, like all bullies everywhere, turned and ran as the three younger kids turned out to be made of tougher stuff than their usual targets. Shikamaru let go of their leader, no longer able to hold his Jutsu. He turned and ran with his friends, not even looking back.

“Sigh. How troublesome,” Shikamaru said as he caught his breath. Turning towards Naruto, he asked, “You alright?”

“I could’ve handled them,” Naruto said as he got up.

Shikamaru snorted. “Yeah, and look how that turned out?”

“Naruto-kun,” Hinata said, reverting to her shy nature, looking over Naruto in concern.

“I’m fine. Thanks,” Naruto mumbled out. He never had anyone stand up for him before, other than Shirou-nii, and he wasn’t sure how to express his gratitude.

“So,” Shikamaru began. “Now that that’s over, want to cloud watch with me?”

“That’s boring!” Naruto exclaimed, already forgetting about the whole ordeal with his short attention span.

“Don’t knock it until you try it,” Shikamaru replied. “We can try to imagine that the clouds look like other things. Like that one. That looks like a bird.”

“What? Really?” And just like that, Shikamaru had managed to get Naruto interested.

He turned toward Hinata. “Why don’t you try?”

“A-ano, alright…” Hinata said. “Does that one look like a rabbit to you?”

Shikamaru and his newly made friends spent the rest of the afternoon trying to identify cloud shapes and making up stories about them.

‘How troublesome,’ Shikamaru thought. ‘But I guess they’re alright. Nee-chan owes me so many brownies for this.’

*Line Break*

‘Well, looks like Shikamaru-kun handled that alright,” Cat thought as she watched. Her orders meant that she was not allowed to reveal herself to Naruto unless he was directly threatened, not that a couple of bullies counted. If they were adults, that would have been different.

‘Hmm, I should tell Sakura-chan about this. Shikamaru-kun deserves some extra brownies,’ Cat thought as the kids were cloud watching with Shikamaru. ‘Sigh, back to another boring shift watching kids.’

*Line Break*

“So,” Shikaku began as he was playing a game of shogi with his son. It was after dinner and they were playing while snacking on Sakura-chan’s brownies. Something about his son deserving them after what he did today. “You made two new friends huh?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Shikamaru asked as he looked at the board, brownie in hand and the other rubbing his chin as he planned his next move.

“Nothing much,” Shikaku said as he finished his cup of tea. “What do you think about them? Check.” He moved a piece to counter Shikamaru’s move, drawing a grunt of annoyance from him.

“Naruto is as loud and annoying as Ino, but he’s not a bad person I guess,” Shikamaru said as his father put him in check, again. “Hinata is shy but packs a fierce punch if you anger her.”

“Interesting,” Shikaku said. “And checkmate.”

Shikamaru grumbled as he lost, again. At least his nee-chan baked him treats, all his father did was beat him at shogi and dispense old man wisdom.

“Why do people treat Naruto the way they do?” Shikamaru asked suddenly. “I mean, when we were on our way back to Shirou’s house, the people glared at him and moved their kids behind them. The boys we met at the park even said something about their parents telling them to stay away from Naruto.”

“I see,” Shikaku said. He always knew this day would come, when his son asked him the hard questions about life. And it had to be about the most troublesome kid that the village had. “What do you think about him? In more detail than your answer earlier.”

“What do I think?” Shikamaru said as he contemplated his answer. “I’ve just known him for a day. He’s an idiot, but interesting. Troublesome, but not bad. If not for nee-chan’s prodding, I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to befriend him, but I wouldn’t have shut him out either.”

Shikaku smiled at his son’s answer. “Then there’s your answer. Don’t just follow along what other people think. People can be stupid at times.”

“Even you?” Shikamaru asked, not believing that. His father was the smartest person he knew, followed by his nee-chan.

“Even me,” Shikaku confirmed. “I’ve made mistakes before son.” He rubbed at the scars on his face, a reminder of what his mistake, his arrogance had cost him. “But I learned from them.”

“What was your biggest mistake?” Shikamaru asked.

Shikaku frowned. Tonight was a night full of hard questions from his son. Why couldn’t he ask his mother this kind of question? “Not protecting your uncle and aunt. Not keeping Sakura-chan from becoming an orphan.”

“Oh,” Shikamaru said, not sure how to reply to that.

Shikaku got up and stretched a bit. “Well, it’s getting late. Finish up your brownies and remember to brush before you go to bed.” With that, Shikaku went to the kitchen to talk to his wife.

Shikamaru looked at the finished game in front of him as he contemplated his talk with his father. He came to a simple conclusion.

“How troublesome.”

*Line Break*

“And that’s all that I have to report,” Anko finished as she stood in front of the Hokage.

“Hmm, I see,” the Hokage said as he twiddled his pipe. How interesting. He knew the three were smart, far too smart for children their age. In fact, he didn’t think the village had seen such promising talent since Minato and Itachi. To acquire this much knowledge on Fuinjutsu would normally require decades of work, like his wayward student and successor turned predecessor. They weren’t considered seal masters until they were in their twenties, him even later in his thirties but not quite to the level of his student, and even Jiraiya could not comprehend Orochimaru’s cursed seal.

“They said that they could remove it?” Hiruzen inquired.

“They believe they can,” Anko clarified. “But they aren’t willing to do it, not without some tests at least. That, and well… you know that Orochimaru has spies in the village.”

Hiruzen sighed as he took a puff from his pipe at the reminder of his greatest failure. Why could he not see what his old student had become before it was too late? And the fact that he was placing parts of his soul in his cursed seal? 

“I agree,” Hiruzen stated. “It’s too risky. At least until the three of them are older. I’m classifying this as an S-rank secret, punishable by immediate execution should it be leaked.” Fortunately, they were the only two in the room, Hiruzen having dismissed his ANBU guards when Anko came in. Or so he thought.

*Line Break*

“Interesting,” Danzo said as one of his ROOT agents reported what he had heard from spying on his old friend. “So, the three believe that they can remove Orochimaru’s cursed seal? Doubtful, but not unbelievable. Those three are the most talented children that this village has produced in a long time.”

Danzo wished that he could recruit them into his private forces. Such potential, such talent! And it was being squandered under the guise of letting them have a childhood! Such nonsense.

Unfortunately, they were too high profile for his regular methods to work. The Hyuuga heiress, niece of the Jonin Commander and Nara clan head and a boy that was already under Hiruzen’s aegis. Yes, recruiting them would be impossible for him, at least not while Hiruzen was still Hokage.

He still had to tread carefully, especially after his failed assassination attempt and Orochimaru’s defection just over two years ago. One wrong step and evidence or not, Hiruzen would come down on him with all the force of a Tailed Beast.

Yes, he had to play the long game, as he always had.

**Omake**

Akimichi Chouza looked down at the small purple-haired girl at his door. Sakura was standing in front of him, two large containers in hand and giving him a smile so sweet that it could give people diabetes. Honestly, could Shikaku’s niece get any sweeter?

“Good afternoon, Sakura-chan,” Chouza greeted. “Please, come in.”

Chouza moved to the side, his large frame had been blocking the door, to let the tiny Nara girl in.

“Good afternoon, Chouza-oji,” Sakura greeted. “That’s alright. I just came here to give you these.” Sakura held up the container in her hand.

“Oh?” Chouza said. “What is it?”

Sakura opened a container, revealing several cookies inside.

“Hmm,” Chouza said as he picked up a cookie. “Interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before.”

“I made them,” Sakura said. “I call them chocolate chip cookies. I just finished making this batch for Choji-kun and you all.” She pouted, “Oji-san and Shikamaru-kun ate all of my first batch earlier so I had to make another one for you and Ino-chan.”

“You made these?” Chouza said in amazement. She was what? Four years old and already baking? “Yoshino-san let you use her kitchen?”

Sakura frowned a bit, still adorable as far as Chouza was concerned. Honestly, if they didn’t agree that having Choji was enough, his wife would be pestering him for a daughter after seeing how cute Sakura-chan was. Not that he would mind too much, but Choji was enough for him. Maybe in a few years when he became a shinobi.

“No,” Sakura said. “Yoshino-oba is out for the day and won’t be back till tonight.”

Chouza chuckled. “She won’t be happy if she knew that you used her kitchen Sakura-chan.”

Sakura pouted. “You won’t tell, will you?”

Chouza pretended to think about it. “Well, since you baked me these cookies, let’s make this our little secret, OK?”

Sakura smiled. “OK! I have to give these to Ino-chan and her family as well! Bye bye.”

“Have a nice day as well, Sakura-chan,” Chouza said as Sakura left in the direction of the Yamanaka compound.

Taking the container to his living room, Chouza saw his son imitating a Nara. That was to say, taking an afternoon nap.

“Choji, wake up!” Chouza bellowed, startling his son awake.

“Tou-chan! Why did you have to wake me up?” Choji groaned as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

“None of that now. Look at what Sakura-chan made for us,” Chouza showed Choji the container full of cookies.

“Sakura-nee made these?” Choji asked as he took one.

“Yes,” Chouza said as he took one himself. “Let’s try them out.”

And with that, the two Akimichis took a bite of Sakura’s baked treat.

The rest is history.

*Line Break*

The next day.

Sakura looked on as Choji and Ino chased Shikamaru around the house. This was the most energetic that she had ever seen her little brother.

“Give it!” Ino demanded.

“Never!” Shikamaru snapped back from his place on top of a bookshelf. Yoshino-oba won’t be happy about that.

“Don’t be stingy!” Choji yelled. “Sakura-nee said to share! So, share!”

The root of this scenario, the container full of freshly baked cookies in Shikamaru’s arms.

See, her aunt eventually did find out about her using the kitchen to bake cookies, and she was not happy about it. She fussed over her, lecturing to her over proper kitchen safety and why she was too young to work in the kitchen.

Sakura argued back and said that she would show her that she could handle herself just fine in the kitchen.

The fact that Sakura argued back shocked Yoshino enough to give her a nod of agreement. A few hours and the last of her leftover chocolate later, and Yoshino was sufficiently convinced that Sakura was mature and careful enough to be allowed in the kitchen. It helped that she was busy trying to get the recipe out of Sakura.

In her regular meeting with Inoichi and Chouza’s wives, she gushed over her cute little niece’s culinary accomplishment, within earshot of a young Ino, who then told Choji. It was not long after the two rushed over to Shikamaru’s house for some of Sakura-nee’s cookies, especially after the ones they had last night.

Problem was, Shikamaru didn’t want to share. Which led them to now.

Shikamaru jumped from his bookshelf perch, heading for the stairs then his room, where he could enjoy the fruits of his nee-chan’s labour in peace. At least, that was the plan.

He hung in mid-air as a shadow tendril grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Ino and Choji were being restrained by a shadow tendril each as well. Turning towards his nee-chan, where the tendrils originated, he saw a disappointed look on her face as she moved the three of them in front of her.

“I am very disappointed in all three of you,” Sakura scolded as the three of them shrunk into themselves. “Shikamaru-kun, I thought I told you to share the cookies with your friends.”

“But… but…” Shikamaru tried to come up with an excuse but his normally intelligent mind chose that moment to abandon him.

“And you two,” Sakura turned to Ino and Choji, who looked down. “You do not chase people around the house when they don’t give you what you want. Look at this mess!”

She turned the three to look at the living room. It was a mess. Upturned chairs, fallen books and newspapers, tables knocked to the side. It was a good thing that there was nothing breakable like a flower vase or glass, otherwise things would have been a lot more dangerous.

“As punishment, the three of you will clean up your mess,” Sakura said. “And I’ll be eating these cookies myself.”

“But… but…” the three of them said as Sakura turned to leave. She turned around to face them again.

**“Did you say something?”** Sakura asked in a voice that was definitely her own, but held something that the three younger children were unsure of but definitely feared.

“Nothing!” The three quickly went to clean up the mess they left behind as Sakura watched on, eating the cookies she had just made.

**‘Were we a bit harsh on them?’** BB asked as she savoured the chocolate chip cookies that Sakura was eating. Ah, was she glad that they figured out how to share senses. Sakura channeled a bit of her earlier into her voice. Nothing serious, but definitely scary.

‘Hmm,’ Sakura thought as she ate another cookie while the three snuck hungry looks at her as they cleaned. ‘I don’t believe so. Kids need a firm hand when they do something wrong. At least that was what I read.’

**‘I guess you’re right,’** BB agreed. **‘Want to try making brownies next time?’**

‘Sure,’ Sakura agreed with her inner self as she supervised her three cleaners' work. Ah, how she enjoyed days like these where she could be a normal child. Well, as normal as a child born into a shinobi clan could be.

*End*

**I would like to remind my readers that I accept omake ideas.**

**Here’s one of my ideas for later in the story.**

**After Naruto’s class graduates, Shirou decides to educate the boys about the anime girl stereotypes and what to watch out for. As expected, Shirou’s status as an eroge protagonist means he is very well educated in the subject and will talk about tsunderes, yanderes and whatever else I manage to find on the internet. Includes all the male senses and excludes the girls.**

**Anyway, stay safe, wear a mask when outside and for the FGO players, may the Gacha gods grant you a five-star Sigurd.**

**(I think waiting for Skadi would be a better idea, Muh Quick support and all that jazz. -Danga)**


	9. Chapter 8

**First 10k words chapter, not including the author notes and omakes.**

**This chapter covers the Hyuuga Affair and is very different from the original story.**

**Also be advised, odds are very good that this chapter is not lore friendly. So, any of you readers who are particular about stories keeping to the original material, you have been warned.**

**You can mention what part it is that is not lore friendly and write down what should have been there. If enough information is given, I might edit this chapter later.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Betaed by Danga.**

Chapter 8 – The Hyuuga Affair

“Hyahh!!!” Sakura yelled as she punched Shirou. Well, at least she tried to. As Shirou easily grabbed her outstretched fist and pulled her right arm behind her back. Not enough to dislocate it, this was just a spar after all, but enough to hurt.

“Ow! Ow! I give!” Sakura said as Shirou released her. “Did you have to be so rough Shirou?”

“Sorry,” Shirou said. “But you did ask for help with your Taijutsu.”

That night, Sakura and Rin had stayed over to practice their Taijutsu with Shirou. With the Kumo delegates in the village to sign a peace agreement with Konoha, they decided it was best to stay over at Shirou’s for the night.

Though the Third War had officially ended over four years ago, Konoha and Kumo had never signed a peace agreement officially recognizing the end of the war despite fighting having ceased long ago. That was being corrected with the Fourth Raikage, A, sending their Head Ninja as a diplomatic envoy to hammer out a treaty with them. 

Coincidentally, they had just celebrated Hinata’s fourth birthday that afternoon in Shirou’s house, with friends and cake. Though Hiashi could not attend, as he was busy with the other clan heads for the treaty, her mother, uncle and cousin did.

Neji was a nice enough boy who listened and followed Rin like a little brother, despite only being a month younger than her. He was still not sealed, but that would happen soon enough. Rin had apologized to him about it, but he didn’t hold it against her, and they treated each other as family.

That and Rin would probably ask him to get rid of the seal with Rule Breaker if the plan she had come up with was ever needed to deal with her own clan. It really said something that Rin was planning to overthrow her own clan’s leadership after what her grandfather almost did to Hinata-chan. She would have his and Sakura’s help should that day ever come.

That night, after dinner the three of them had decided to train. This was hardly the first time the two had stayed at Shirou’s house for practice and their parents or guardians were fine with it so long as they came back by ten. So, after putting Naruto to bed, the three of them went to his house’s dojo to practice their Taijutsu. 

Out of all three of them, Sakura was the weakest at hand to hand combat. She never attended the mandatory self-defence courses at the Clock Tower, mostly because she wasn’t there as a student but as Rin’s assistant of sorts.

Shirou was the best among the three at unarmed combat, incorporating multiple styles of combat to suit his needs. Rin wasn’t half bad as well, having been taught by Kotomine Kirei before his unlamented demise, as well as having regular fights with Luvia. Now that she had been reborn as a Hyuuga, she had rapidly improved her hand to hand, though Shirou could still beat her in a pure Taijutsu match most of the time. If they both used magecraft, then things were a bit more even though he could still beat her more often than not.

See, unlike Rin who was a proper magus, Shirou was what one would call a spellcaster. Meaning magecraft was just a tool to him, not a lifelong goal. What it meant was that he had devoted his entire attention on strengthening his magecraft for combat, not reaching the Root like Rin.

Sakura was actually the most powerful of the three. In conjunction with BB, the two could probably match a mid-tier Servant in prolonged combat. Her shadows, reserves and other abilities that she seldom used made getting close to her next to impossible. Shirou often thought that she might even be able to survive an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm with relative ease.

Though she still needed some help with her Taijutsu, as demonstrated by Shirou once again sending her on to the padded floor.

“You’re improving,” Rin said from the side. She had already sparred with Shirou earlier. Her Gentle Fist was something Shirou had quickly learned to avoid. Having your tenketsu sealed hurts and Reinforcing your body didn’t stop her from being able to do so. Not that that stopped him from sending her to the floor within a minute.

“Still not good enough to give you two a challenge,” Sakura said as she moved her arm around to relieve the discomfort. “But I guess I did ask for this.”

“I never did ask,” Shirou began, “but doesn’t the Nara clan have its own Taijutsu style? Why don’t you ask your clansman for training?”

Sakura shook her head. “Our style mostly revolves around getting enough space to use our shadows. It’s not the best in a real Taijutsu fight so I wanted to learn a different style.”

Rin looked at the clock in the dojo. “It’s getting late. Let’s clean up and we can head home.”

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, the three were ready to go. With Kumo nin in the village, Shirou felt uneasy letting the girls walk home alone despite knowing that they were able to defend themselves. So, he decided to escort them home.

“That’s sweet Shirou, but we can walk home alone just fine,” Rin said.

“I know,” Shirou said, “but better safe than sorry.”

“Shirou,” Sakura said exasperatedly.

The three walked out the door, waving to Naruto’s hidden ANBU guards, keeping watch over the house. They were here to watch Naruto, especially now that there was Kumo nin in the village. Kumo had a bad history of attempting to kidnap clan children. If they knew about Konoha’s young and untrained Jinchuriki, they wouldn’t even hesitate.

The three made their way to the Hyuuga compound, being the furthest, Sakura decided that they would walk Rin home first then go to her house on their way back. It was a nice night out with the temperature merely a little chilly despite it being winter. Not a speck of snow in sight due to Konoha’s geographical position, making snowfall rare. It happened, but not often.

“So,” Shirou said, trying to make small talk. “What do you think about the peace treaty?”

“With Kumo?” Sakura asked, getting a nod of confirmation from Shirou. “Well, I suppose it’s just a formality. War’s been over for quite some time now.”

Rin snorted. “You mean the fighting. I don’t think the five villages have ever really been at peace.”

“Hmm, oji-san has been really busy these last few days,” Sakura said. “Yugao-oba as well.”

“It’s to be expected,” Shirou said. “What, with the increased security. Anko-nee has been busy at the Intelligence Division too. She hasn’t been back in two nights.”

“Sigh. At least they finally ratified and signed the treaty today,” Rin said. “Why do I have to live so far from your house, Shirou? Maybe you should move closer to my clan compound.”

“Or you could move into mine full-time,” Shirou joked. “You already spend more time at my place than your own house.”

“Hmm, that’s actually not a bad idea,” Rin said. “It would keep me closer to my research anyway.”

“Well, at least the Nara clan compound is close,” Sakura said. “I can visit anytime I want. Just like old times, neh senpai.”

“You haven’t called me senpai in a while Sakura,” Shirou said, feeling nostalgic. “I mean, we’re all the same age this time around. Are you two joining the Academy in Spring next year?”

They were turning six soon, Hinata’s birthday being at the end of December. Six was the age most prospective shinobi joined the Academy and they would be no different.

“Yeah,” Rin said. “After that, six more years of boring schoolwork then we can finally be shinobi.”

“Not going to try to graduate early?” Sakura asked, surprised. She would have expected Rin to want to be a genin as soon as she could.

“Nah,” Rin denied. “I mean, you two aren’t planning on it, why would I? Besides, I want this second childhood to last as long as possible.” 

“I agree,” Shirou said as Sakura nodded along. Their last childhoods were not the best. Rin lost her parents in the Fourth Holy Grail War; Sakura was given to the Matous and Shirou lost all his memories from before the age of seven. At least Shirou was adopted by Kiritsugu and managed to give him some semblance of a normal childhood, despite being a former mercenary and constantly going back to Germany to try to get Illya.

They were getting close to the Hyuuga compound when Shirou stopped. He smelled the air and found an unfamiliar chakra scent. Now normally that alone was not enough to alarm him, Konoha was big and he probably didn’t know everyone’s chakra scent. But this scent was decidedly not from a Hyuuga and other shinobi rarely ventured so close to the Hyuuga clan compound.

“Shirou?” Rin asked in confusion.

“Something seems wrong,” Shirou said, looking around for hints of what was bothering him.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Rin said but activated her Byakugan just in case Shirou was right. Sakura spread out her senses as well, trying to find what had Shirou so concerned.

“HINATA!” Rin suddenly screamed as she ran at full Reinforced speed. Shirou and Sakura looked at her in surprise before quickly following after her. With the speed Rin was going at, the two had to put in some effort just to catch up.

“I sensed someone leaving the direction of the compound earlier,” Sakura told Shirou as they quickly caught up to Rin.

“Three unknowns,” Rin said without turning to face them. “Northwest of the compound. One just left the compound, with my sister!” Rin said the last bit in anger before swearing again. “Damn it! They just split up! And I can’t tell which one has my sister!”

“They’re blocking your sight?” Shirou asked. He knew that it was possible but that usually required specialised seals. Seals that only a few people in Konoha should have access to outside of the Hyuuga clan, like ANBU for their masks and the Intelligence Division for their prisons. 

“All three have a bundle of some kind that I can’t look into,” Rin explained as they followed her. “Just the right size for holding Hinata in.”

“We’ll get her back,” Sakura comforted her.

Rin stopped at where the three unknowns had gathered. “This is where they split up. Each of the three headed in the general direction of north, west and east.”

“Split up,” Shirou said immediately. “There’s three of them and three of us. I’ll head east, Rin head north and Sakura west. Rin, can you send up a flare to alert the village?”

Rin needed no prompting as she pointed a finger skyward and sent a bright red flare into the sky. “There! If that didn’t get the attention of the idiots in my clan, nothing will.” 

Shirou nodded and traced a pair of Black Keys the size of regular kunai for Rin and Sakura each. With Hinata as a hostage, it was better to restrain them than it was to outright fight them. “Try to at least keep them alive for interrogation. Let’s go!”

The three split up, hopping through the trees in pursuit of their respective targets, determined to make Hinata’s kidnappers pay.

*Line Break*

Hiashi was enjoying some tea on his house’s patio. He looked up at the moonless night, the night sky lit up only by the stars. It had been a long day, but finally a treaty had been signed that guaranteed peace with Kumo. Well for however long that lasted anyway. He had missed his youngest daughter’s birthday party for this, but if it meant that his daughters had time to grow up before the next war started, then it was a sacrifice he was fine with. He would still have to make up for it to his youngest daughter. What did little girls like these days? Rin at least was easy to buy for. Just get her obscure books of knowledge and she would be happy.

Suddenly, a bright flare of light lit the night sky. That was unusual. Concerned, Hiashi activated his Byakugan to check in on his surroundings. His wife was out with the other clan heads wives, the servants had already left for the night, Rin was still not back yet but that was hardly unusual since she told him that she was staying after dinner to train with her friends.

Looking into Hinata’s bedroom, Hiashi paled as he realized that Hinata was missing and it wasn’t for a mundane reason like her being in the bathroom. He also could not find her guard. Sprinting to his house, he made his way towards Hinata’s room, not caring that he was going through the house’s shoji (Japanese paper sliding doors) and acting like a bull in a china shop. His daughter was missing, that was the important thing, dignity be damned!

Making it to Hinata’s room, Hiashi found her guard. Dead, stabbed from the back, a look of surprise on his face showing that he never saw it coming. Entry and exit wounds matched up with those caused by swords, swords that were standard issue in Kumogakure! He would know, he had seen enough of his comrades die with similar wounds during battles against Kumo!

His brother arrived soon after, having come to the same conclusion Hiashi had upon seeing the flare. Looking at the empty bedroom and dead Hyuuga guard, he didn’t bother asking what had happened. “Let’s go!” Hizashi said.

Oming to his senses, Hiashi let loose enough killing intent to wake the entire clan. Not caring that he was dressed in only a yukata and slippers, he rushed with his brother towards the compound's entrance where the guards were perplexed. Both by the flare and their clan head’s killing intent.

“With me!” Hiashi ordered. “My daughter has been kidnapped and we are going to rescue her!”

Alarmed, the Hyuuga clansmen quickly complied. Hiashi could only hope that he was fast enough.

*Line Break*

Across the village, other shinobi were also responding to the flare. Several Uchiha Military Police patrols went to investigate as well as other shinobi in the general area. Problem was, it was originating from where the Hyuuga clan compound was which was near the edge of the village, a fair distance away from the main village. It would take even jounin at least 15 minutes to cross that distance at full speed. Hopefully, they would not be too late.

*Line Break*

“Tch!” Ikeda Gina, the Head Ninja of Kumogakure said as he saw the flare light up the night sky. It had been going so well. He came here to sign a peace treaty with the tree huggers but was really here to kidnap one of their Hyuugas. Oh, the Raikage did want the treaty signed, he was intent on making peace and in no way authorized this mission of his.

No, this was a mission of his own appointment. A self-given mission that only he and his two escorts knew about and agreed to. The Raikage was a fool, wanting peace. His father at least understood that strength was all that mattered and was willing to do whatever it took to put Kumo at the top. And one of those ways was to get as many Bloodlines Limits as possible in Kumo, by whatever means necessary.

The Hyuuga clan was a prime candidate. Those eyes of theirs and their clan Taijutsu style made them a terror on the battlefield. His escorts would know. He had chosen them because they wanted vengeance for their sensei who died fighting a Hyuuga in the last war.

Problem was that seal of theirs. It made acquiring their eyes difficult, so he had decided on this approach. Kidnap one of their girls, the purer the blood the better, and bring her to Kumo to become a broodmare. Then in a few generations, Kumo would have its own clan of Doujutsu wielders. The fact that he managed to get the daughter of the clan head was just the icing on the cake.

It had taken a lot of planning to get the seals he used to hide himself from their Byakugan. He was surprised that he managed to get them at all along with detailed information on Konoha’s patrols and defences. But it let him sneak into their compound easily and make off with a Hyuuga girl. Her guard never even saw him until he had a blade through his heart.

The girl was easy to subdue since she was asleep when he took her. Giving her a mild, child-friendly sedative made sure that she would not wake up until he was well away from the Konoha.

He had thought that the hard part was over when he met up with his two accomplices in the forest outside the Hyuuga clan compound. His two accomplices, Higashi Kazuhiro and Seno Shichiro were newly promoted jounin. Their combat prowess was nothing outstanding, insignificant when compared to the likes of Hatake Kakashi or himself, replacements due to casualties suffered during the war, but they were competent at least and had survived the last war intact.

Unfortunately, his luck ran out when they were spotted just as they were preparing to escape. The flare went up not long after they split up, each carrying a sack holding the same seal that let him sneak into the Hyuuga clan compound unseen. Their pursuers would have to split up as well, increasing his chances of returning to Kumo with the girl. But no doubt more Konoha nin would be on their way, so they would have to be quick.

“Damn it,” Ikeda cursed as his pursuer closed in on him no matter what he did. He had thrown smoke bombs and changed directions multiple times as he hopped through the trees in one of the many small forests within Konoha’s walls, but his pursuer never even stopped, they just kept on running after him. Probably a Hyuuga then. That was fine. He would bring back a broodmare and a pair of eyes for his village.

*Line Break*

Rin wished that she was in her adult body right now. When she was an adult, she could cross 100 metres in less than 7 seconds with Reinforcement, that would allow her to easily cover the gap between her and the shinobi.

Now, in her child body she was far more limited physically but was still able to keep up well enough. Her body was far stronger than her old one, probably had to do with the nature of this world and genetics. Denser muscle tissue, stronger bones, faster nervous system and the ability to continue fighting despite having what in her old life would be fatal wounds. Yes, shinobi were born killing machines, years of constant warfare and selective breeding saw to it.

It helped that chakra was better at self-Reinforcement than Od was, as her chakra enhanced muscles pushed her to keep up with her sister’s kidnapper. And he was definitely the one who had her sister, the bulge in the sack on his back was decidedly child shape.

“Tsk!” Her target just sped up some more. She would have to either slow him down or stop him outright. She went through her inventory of spells and jutsus, dismissing many of them as she may end up hitting Hinata in the process. She eventually settled on her old favourite, but with a twist.

“Gandr Missiles!” Ten Gandr curses shot out of her two hands into the air above her target before curving to strike the branch he was about to land on, forcing him to stop and land on the ground.

Just in time for Rin to catch up to him as she drop-kicked the back of the kidnapper’s left leg, stunning him momentarily and allowing Rin to back away from a retaliatory back hand with the sack he was carrying, confirming that Hinata was in fact inside.

Seeing her little sister in the sack, obviously drugged asleep, made Rin see red. This man would pay dearly for this.

“A brat?” Ikeda said, surprised before glaring at Rin who glared right back. He recognized her. She was the Hyuuga heiress and his original target. When he couldn’t find her, he settled for the younger sister. Now he would get the chance to take home two Hyuuga girls. “Give me the girl brat, or do you want to take her place? I see that you are an unsealed Hyuuga as well, so you or her it doesn’t matter.”

Rin didn’t answer, placing a still sleeping Hinata beside a tree and erecting the most powerful barrier she could manage on short notice to protect her. Dropping a yellow energy-filled gem in front of Hinata, a glowing yellow cube shaped barrier appeared around Hinata, extending a foot underground as well in case he knew any Earth Release jutsu that let him tunnel underground, protecting her until either Rin released it or died, whichever happened first.

“Tsk! That won’t help you,” Ikeda said. He was curious about the barrier as he could tell that it was not powered by chakra. He could always just take Rin instead, though his window of escape was closing for every second he spent subduing her.

Rin didn’t answer, merely glaring at him, Byakugan active as she prepared to fight with everything she had now that Hinata was safe from becoming collateral. Shirou said to take them alive if they could. He never said that they had to be in one piece.

“You know,” Ikeda taunted as he drew his katana from its place on his hip, getting ready for what he thought would be a short and easy fight. “You should have run when you had the chance. That way, at least you both would have had a decent chance of getting away.” 

Rin made a finger gun and pointed it at him. “Gandr!”

Ikeda’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar jutsu and dodged away from the dark coloured curse. This fight would not be as easy as he thought it would be.

*Line Break*

Shirou had caught up with his target in good order. At around 400 metres, he Traced a bow and arrows, fitted for his smaller body and shot several arrows at his target. At this distance, he was confident that he would not hit Hinata by accident if his target was the one holding her.

If he was an adult, he would have used Archer’s bow and shoot at him from even further with arrows that more resembled spears than arrows. But the need to be careful in case he had Hinata and his child body meant that he couldn’t fully draw that monstrous bow of his.

It was only instinct gained from surviving the Third War that saved Higashi Kazuhiro from becoming a human pincushion. He just barely avoided getting skewered by several fast-moving arrows that peppered the branch he was on, merely getting grazed on his left arm. It helped that the arrows were aimed at his limbs and not his chest. Disabling shots then, in case he was the one with the girl.

Higashi turned to face his assailant, wary as well as curious. Archery was a predominantly samurai art and seldom utilised by shinobi. That meant that he had little experience against archers that were not common bandits.

What he saw surprised him. Even in the low light provided by the stars, he could make out a child around five or six years old with the pinkest hair he had ever seen. In his hands was a bow which had an arrow aimed at him. He did not recognize any physical traits that belonged to Konoha’s clans. Either he was from a minor clan or he was a civilian-born.

“So,” Shirou said as he took note of the empty sack discarded on the ground. “You’re not the one with Hinata. Good.”

“What’s so good about it?” Higashi asked as he readied himself and drew his katana from its place on his back. “That means I’m not hindered when fighting you.”

“No,” Shirou said as his eyes narrowed. He dismissed his bow and arrow, the two dissolving into blue particles, surprising Higashi. His magic circuits thrummed to life as around him, several swords materialised in thin air, all aimed tip first at the Kumo nin in front of him. “Good, because now I don’t have to hold back!”

The swords shot towards Higashi at high speed as the man struggled to dodge and deflect the incoming blades. What the hell was this kid? And what kind of jutsu was that?! Those swords were flying at him faster than even the arrows earlier!

“Trace on,” Shirou said as two blades appeared in his hands. Twin falchion blades, one a pure white while the other black with red hexagonal patterns on it. Kanshou and Bakuya, the married blades representing Yin and Yang.

In his hands, the short swords resembled long swords, but Shirou was good enough to compensate for the change in reach and reduced strength he now possessed.

Swords in hand, Shirou charged the Kumo jounin. Time to see if he still had it in him.

*Line Break*

Sakura was not happy. Someone thought that the peace talks were a good opportunity to make off with Rin’s little sister. How they had managed to get past the enhanced security was beyond her, but that did not matter now.

What did matter was that she was closing in on her target. She would have to confirm that he did not have Hinata first, and if he didn’t, all bets were off. If it was Shikamaru in Hinata’s place, they would learn that they knew nothing about fear. She would have to educate them about it.

Sakura threw both her Black Keys at her target’s shadow, her clan’s jutsu requiring her to be immobile and thus, not ideal for the situation. Unfortunately, the Kumo nin noticed her and was able to dodge the Black Keys, both lodging themselves on the tree trunk he was on, just barely missing his shadow. She would have to work on her accuracy with throwing weapons as well. He turned around to face her.

“A little girl?!” Seno Shichiro said, surprised. He recognized her from the intelligence briefing from before he set out to Konoha for the supposed peace talks. She was Nara Sakura, niece of Konoha’s Jounin Commander Nara Shikaku. She was marked as a potential hostage and bargaining chip to be used against Konoha.

“Oh,” Sakura tilted her head to look at the empty sack. “Hmm, it would seem that Hinata is not with you. Oh well, it just means that you and I can have an in depth _talk_ regarding your village’s misconduct.”

Seno didn’t bother to answer. He threw a smoke bomb to the ground that filled the entire area with smoke. It had been found during the last war that the Nara’s needed shadows and line of sight to use their jutsu. With the already low light conditions of the moonless night, the smoke darkened the area even further.

Perhaps it was overkill against a little girl, but Seno was not taking any chances. Using his meagre skill at the Silent Killing Technique, he navigated to where Sakura was, hoping to take her hostage. It was too good of an opportunity to not try. Besides, if he was caught by Konoha’s shinobi later, she would make a good bargaining chip for his escape.

However, his quarry was not there when he made his move.

“So, you know about that particular weakness in my clan’s jutsu.” Sakura’s voice sounded out from everywhere, putting Seno on alert. How did she elude him? She should not be able to see anything in the darkness and smoke screen.

“Unfortunately for you,” Sakura continued from wherever she was hidden, “Darkness is not your friend. **IT’S MINE!!!”**

Black shadow tendrils with glowing red lines burst out of the darkness, heading for the shocked Seno.

He wasted no time in jumping and dodging away and onto the ground. Whatever the girl was, she was not fighting like how he expected a Nara to fight.

Tiger. Snake. Tiger. Bird. Tiger. Ram. “Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!” Seno extended his arms and released a high discharge of lightning at the approaching tendrils, but all his jutsu did was further illuminate the night. In fact, the tendrils seemed to grow larger after absorbing his attack!

**“Thank you for the meal. Allow me to repay you!”**

The poor man would be lucky to leave alive. 

*Line Break*

“Gah!!!” Ikeda cried as he crashed through a tree. He had been sent flying by a surprise Wind Release jutsu that he could not dodge in time, but at least he had managed to blunt most of the damage. What kind of monster was the Hyuuga heiress?!!

He had entered the fight, thinking that it would not last more than seconds. It had been minutes since the fight started. He had already lost his katana, having discarded it after a surprise wind blade cut it in half. After that, it was a back and forth battle between the two of them, his kunai and shuriken pouch having caught fire by a missed fire jutsu and had to be discarded. The moonless night was lit up by the various elemental Ninjutsu they threw at each other. How did she even have the chakra to keep up with this?!!

Their surroundings were a mess of craters, felled trees and scorched earth. The only area that was untouched was where Hinata was since Rin took care to direct the fight away from her. Right now, they were at least a hundred metres from where they first stood when the fight started.

So far, Rin was keeping her distance from Ikeda. She knew that in a real Taijutsu fight, her current state meant that she would most likely lose that fight, Gentle Fist and Byakugan or not. Her history of defeating much older opponents had more to do with surprise and her magecraft. She would wait till an opening presented itself, or she made one herself. Then and only then, she would strike with her clan’s famed Gentle Fist.

So, for now she would have to keep her distance using Ninjutsu and magecraft. Luckily, after the debacle where her grandfather tried to have Hinata sealed, she always kept at least a dozen fully-charged jewels on her person, half of which were charged with chakra.

It had taken a lot of research and many destroyed jewels for her to modify her family’s craft to work with chakra, but she had eventually discovered a treatment for the jewels that let them store chakra just as well as magical energy.

Those chakra jewels stored chakra that she could reabsorb later to use for jutsus that were normally too high cost for her currently small reserves to handle. Efficiency was still not as good as she would like but they would do for now. 

So far, she had used up two chakra jewels and one magic jewel. One of the chakra ones for Wind Release jutsus that had taken away Ikeda’s katana and sent him flying earlier. The other she had used up in her back and forth Ninjutsu battle with the Kumo nin. The mana-filled jewel she had used to erect the barrier protecting Hinata.

“Lightning Release: False Darkness!”

Ikeda spat out a stream of lightning at the tree where Rin was taking cover behind, putting a hole through it and knocking it down. He was no longer taking any chances with Rin and had increased the lethality of his jutsus. Screw taking her back as a broodmare! He would just take her eyes and be done with it!

If Rin was still behind that tree, she would have had a fist sized hole put through her body. Fortunately for her, she had spotted the jutsu well before Ikeda finished building up the chakra in his throat with her Byakugan and had escaped possible death by tunneling underground using ‘Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique’.

‘Three chakra and five magic jewels left,’ Rin counted as she made her way underneath Ikeda.

“Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!” Rin’s hands reached for Ikeda’s legs, intent on dragging the man underground.

Somehow, he knew that she was beneath him and leapt out of the way.

“Tsk!” Undeterred, Rin emerged from the ground and had one of her magic jewels in her hand. A dark blue spell flew out of the jewel, the jewel dimming as it had used up all of its stored energy.

The spell was not lethal, as Rin wanted the man alive for questioning. What the spell did was render the target immobile by screwing with their perception of the world. Up became down, near objects were far away and that fist coming for you was definitely coming from the front and not the side.

Even better, as it was not a Genjutsu the regular methods for dispelling Genjutsu did not work for it. He would be at her mercy the moment the spell hit.

Sadly, Ikeda was able to dodge the spell mid-air. However, it did succeed in knocking off the man’s headband, revealing the man’s trump card that was in his covered right eye.

“A transplanted Byakugan,” Rin stated, not at all surprised. So that was how he knew where she was when she was underground. 

“Oh,” Ikeda removed the remains of his head wrappings and headband. “Do you like it? I have to admit it’s been passed down for quite a bit and no longer works as well as it used to. But it still does its job. For example, those additional coils in your body that have the same unknown energy as your jewels. My, my, would you tell me what those are?”

“That eye changes nothing,” Rin simply stated, a chakra jewel in hand. Absorbing the chakra in it, she made the hand seals for her next jutsu.

Rat. Tiger. Dog. Ox. Rabbit. Tiger. “Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!”

Rin spat out a large fireball that halfway split up into several smaller fireballs, all headed for Ikeda from several directions.

Tiger. Hare. Boar, Dog. “Earth Release: Mud Wall!”

Ikeda slammed his hands onto the ground, causing a wall of earth to rise up, protecting him from the fireballs.

That was fine with Rin. She didn’t expect him to get hit anyway. Instead, she tunnelled away underneath him once again.

“Don’t you learn?” Ikeda taunted as he prepared a lightning jutsu. “I can see you even when you’re underground!” He would spear through her with this jutsu, then go back for the younger Hyuuga girl. Let Konoha dig out her mangled remains.

What he did not expect was for a chakra-filled jewel to shoot out of the earth right in front of him and detonate inches from his face.

“Arghh!!!” Ikeda screamed as his Byakugan took in the full brunt of an improvised chakra flashbang. Problem with having such great sight was that sensory overload was an issue that all Hyuugas had to deal with through years of resistance training, otherwise everyone would do what she just did to stun any Hyuuga they met.

Ikeda did not have the training that all Hyuugas went through to render the issue moot. Thus, he was helpless when Rin burst out of the ground in front of him and started showing him why the Hyuuga clan was renowned for its Taijutsu.

“Eight Trigrams: Two Palms!”

“Four Palms!”

“Eight Palms!”

“Sixteen Palms!”

“Thirty-two Palms!”

“Sixty-four Palms!”

“Eight Trigrams: One Hundred Twenty-eight Palms!”

Ikeda was sent flying, chakra sealed off and muscles unresponsive. The man crashed to the ground, a crater forming where he landed.

Rin panted as she finished him off with her clan’s Gentle Fist, which unlike what the name implied was not the least bit gentle. She checked in on Hinata, sighing in relief as the barrier still stood at full strength and Hinata remained safe inside it. She deactivated her Byakugan after making sure that they were alone, her own chakra reserves half empty. Despite her jewels, she still had to use her own chakra to enhance herself just to keep up with the Kumo nin and the Byakugan was quite the chakra sink. She finished this fight with just one last chakra jewel and four mana jewels. She would need to keep more on her person next time.

Before deactivating her eyes, she could see both Shirou and Sakura finishing up their fight a fair distance away. Though calling Sakura’s fight a slaughter was perhaps more appropriate. Hopefully, that man would still be alive when she was done with him.

“Damn it! It’s been ten minutes since I sent up the flare! This is terrible response time!” Rin complained.

“Grhh,” Ikeda grunted as he tried and failed to get up. Damn it! To be beaten by a child, Hyuuga genius or no! How humiliating.

“Oh, you are still conscious?” Rin said, Ikeda’s grunt having caught her attention. “Impressive. Most people, even jounin would be out for hours at least.”

“Damn brat!” Ikeda snarled. “You’ll pay for this! You and your whole damn village!”

“Hmm,” Rin took out a mana-filled jewel and dropped it in front of Ikeda, several energy ribbons emerging from the jewel and bound the man tight. He would not be running anywhere even if he could.

“Do you know what we would have done to her?” Ikeda yelled out impotently, hoping to get Rin to make a mistake. “We would have brainwashed her into being loyal to us! Then, when she grew up, she would be happy to spread her legs to any Kumo male that asked! We would have dozens of Hyuugas born in Kumo within a generation!”

Let it be known that Rin was once the host for the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar. Though Rin’s own personality greatly influenced the goddess when she borrowed her body, noticeably making her nicer and removing her yandere tendencies to adopt Rin’s more tsundere ones according to both Gilgamesh and Enkidu, who were forever thankful for it, Ishtar did leave her mark on Rin as well.

One of which was her vindictive streak, or perhaps enhanced was better since Rin herself was already rather vindictive towards those who wronged her. This was the goddess that sent a mountain-sized Bull of Heaven towards Gilgamesh just because he rejected her sexual advances after all. Truly, the original yandere according to Gilgamesh.

So, with that in mind, Rin gave the bound and helpless man a smile. It was not a nice smile. He wanted to get a reaction out of her, he would get one.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Ikeda asked in fear as Rin placed an open palm on his body, just above what made him a man.

“Relax,” Rin said with a butter won’t melt in her mouth expression. “This will hurt a lot.”

Rin charged her hand with lightning natured chakra and the night sky was filled with a high-pitched screech of pain.

*Line Break*

Across the forest where Shirou and Higashi were, the clang of metal clashing against metal could be heard.

‘What kind of prodigy is this kid?!’ Higashi thought as he blocked a swing headed for his guts then backed away from a neck slash. ‘It’s like he knows my every move before I make it! I thought only the Sharingan could do that, yet this kid’s eyes are brown, not Sharingan red!’

The two had been fighting for quite some time, Shirou keeping up with the older man with moderate difficulty and sending a sword flying at him to allow him to keep control of the tempo of the battle.

Their surroundings were filled with scattered swords, some on the ground and some speared through whole tree trunks, making Higashi extremely determined not to get hit by one.

Shirou had looked at Higashi’s katana with Structural Analysis before the fight started, Unlimited Blade Works providing him with the history of the blade and the man he was currently fighting.

Forged ten years ago by a Kumogakure blacksmith named Nawashi, first picked up by Higashi a year after that. Saw use in the Third Shinobi World War when Higashi was sent to the front after a promotion to chunin at the age of ten.

Shirou saw it all. From the moment the sword was completed, Higashi training with it when he was a genin, its combat use against enemy nin during the war. Every technique, trick and skill he ever developed with that blade, Shirou now knew and was using to predict where Higashi would strike before the katana was swung.

That, along with Reinforcing his body, let him keep up against a jounin in a swordfight. If the man disengaged and resorted to Taijutsu, Ninjutsu or even Genjutsu, he would have a better chance against Shirou.

Too bad Higashi’s pride as a swordsman and Kumo’s swordsmanship kept him from thinking about using other methods.

Shirou blocked an overhead strike by crossing both of his blades. His eyes widened when the katana in Higashi’s hands charged with electricity, forcing him to disengage and jump back.

With this temporary respite, Higashi threw several kunai at Shirou. They were effortlessly deflected but bought him time as he made several one-handed seals.

Boar. Ram. Snake. Horse. Dragon. “Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!”

He swung his katana in Shirou’s direction, sending a wave of electricity towards him. Thinking fast, Shirou Traced three longswords in front of him and sunk them into the ground.

The longswords acted as a makeshift lightning rods, grounding the electricity before it even reached Shirou.

“Tsk! Those swords again!” Higashi growled in frustration. “How are you doing that?!”

His pride was taking a severe beating right now. He had been promoted to jounin based on his combat abilities with kenjutsu along with mastering using his katana as a medium for several Lightning Release Ninjutsu. To be so easily matched by a boy who was not old enough to be an Academy student was really grating on his nerves.

Higashi dodged as several more swords flew at him, his katana deflecting the ones he couldn’t. His bones rattled as he kept the flying swords from skewering him, showing just how much force the projectiles possessed.

Once again, Shirou jumped in, fighting the man sword against twin swords. The dance of blades would have been beautiful were it not for the fact that both swordsmen were aiming to land fatal blows against each other. Higashi would no longer underestimate Shirou and fought him as he would any other opponent, with the intent to kill.

Shirou noticed the change in pace and increased attempts to attack his vitals and responded accordingly. He would have liked to take him alive, the knowledge on how he and his accomplices penetrated so deep into Konoha’s defences would be important to fix the problem. However, Shirou also had no problems with killing the man if it became necessary.

‘Holy shit!’ Higashi thought. ‘The kid is really going into this with the intent to kill! What kind of kid does that?!’

Higashi was not expecting to face a kid who fought him like a veteran. There was no unnecessary movement, no showy swordsmanship that some nobles displayed in exhibition fights and no taunting. All his attacks were aimed with the intent of ending this fight as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Higashi managed a surprise kick that Shirou blocked by crossing his swords in front of him. The kick still sent him flying back but Shirou landed upright and ready to fight. The two eyed each other warily, swords at the ready for any surprises the other side might have.

Shirou took advantage of the momentary respite to assess his situation. His chakra reserves were still over two-thirds full, his race to catch up with Higashi and Reinforcing his body to match his speed and strength advantage having not taken as much chakra as a Ninjutsu battle would have.

His magical reserves were still well within acceptable levels, just slightly below 80%. Tracing the Married Blades and several nameless regular longswords having not taken much of his magical energy. If necessary, Shirou could risk Tracing a more powerful weapon, but he wanted to keep as much of his abilities a secret as he could.

The fight had gone on for five minutes and Shirou was getting tired. Reinforcement did not mean that his body was not that of a child’s and fatigue was starting to make itself known. He would have to end this now!

“Crane wings, without opening;” Shirou chanted silently. He threw both Kanshou and Bakuya at Higashi’s neck, surprising him but not enough for him to be unable to deflect them away. That was fine, all part of the plan.

Shirou closed in, Tracing another pair of swords surprising Higashi.

“Spirit and technique, reaching the mountain;”

The thrown Bakuya returns from behind to attack Higashi and he immediately strikes with the Kanshou in his hand.

“Spirit and technique, crossing the Yellow River;”

Directly afterward, the thrown Kanshou returns and he uses the Bakuya in his hand to attack as well.

Higashi struggled to block all four attacks, managing to just barely do so. However, this was Shirou’s intent as it had left him completely open.

“Name, ending in a different heaven;”

A third pair was Traced in Shirou’s hands as he slashed at Higashi’s open defence in a downwards X-motion.

“Two rivals, sharing a life.” Shirou finished as two deep gashes were cut into Higashi’s chest, his flak jacket just barely managing to keep Shirou from slicing through any organs.

“Gah!” Higashi was on his knees, using his katana to support himself. What was that attack! How did the kid get those swords to return mid-air! Looking up, he saw Shirou staring at him, the two face to face as his kneeling form put them both at eye-level. That was the last thing he saw before he blacked out.

Shirou sighed as he knocked the man out with Kanshou’s flat side. He’ll live, but if the bleeding wasn’t stopped soon he would probably bleed out. The Triple-Linked Crane Wings was almost always a sure hit technique and normally he would transform the last pair into Kanshou and Bakuya Overedge, the same swords but the size of longswords, but with his smaller stature that was less than ideal. At least it worked and the Kumo nin was no longer an issue. Now he just had to drag the man to get treatment before he bled out.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!” a man screamed out in pain some distance away.

“Well,” Shirou said to himself as he faced the direction where the scream came from. “At least I know which way Rin is. Or maybe it’s Sakura?” The scream came from about a kilometre away, he should be able to get there within a few minutes with the man if he pushed himself a bit.

Shirou Reinforced himself once again, lifting the unconscious man in a fireman’s carry, grumbling as he felt blood get all over him. He dismissed all the swords that littered the battleground, leaving behind a lot of trees and parts of the earth with holes and craters. Hopefully he would get to either Rin or Sakura before the man bled out so that they could heal him enough for questioning. And hand him over to someone else. If that flare didn’t get anyone’s attention, and it’s been ten minutes since they sent it up! Then that scream of pain most definitely would.

*Line Break*

‘I have to get out of here!’ Seno thought in a panic as he dodged the countless shadow tendrils that never seemed to stop coming for him. Whatever they were, they resembled nothing like the ones that Nara he fought during the war used.

Somehow, he had managed to avoid the Nara girl’s tendrils for maybe five minutes but that was all that he managed to do! It was taking every bit of instinct and intuition he had to avoid them!

Nothing seemed to work! Kunai and shuriken bounced off them, touching them drained his chakra at an alarming rate, making Taijutsu impossible. Ninjutsu seemed to be absorbed by it, making them faster and larger! He even tried Genjutsu, but all that got him was a condescending laugh from the demonic Nara girl.

Ducking down, a tendril speared through the air above him, going through a tree trunk. Seeing an opening, Seno made a run for it, not even caring if he was caught by Konoha’s shinobi. There was no way that they were worse than this demon in disguise!

His hopes were dashed when several of the shadow tendrils blocked his path.

**“WHO SAID THAT YOU WERE ALLOWED TO LEAVE? DON’T YOU WANT TO PLAY SOME MORE!”**

“Fuck you!” Seno cursed as his escape path was cut off. Now what was he going to do?

**“MY, MY. WHAT LANGUAGE YOU ARE USING. DON’T YOU KNOW THAT I’M YOUNG AND IMPRESSIONABLE?”**

Seno was quickly running out of options. His only hope was to kill the girl and hope that the shadow tendrils stopped coming.

“Come out and fight me yourself!” Seno tried to get a rise from the girl. “Or are you too chicken to fight me yourself and have to hide behind your shadows like a typical Nara?”

There, that should work right? Children responded to that kind of taunting right? Right?

**“OH? YOU WANT ME TO FIGHT YOU IN PERSON? WELL WHY DON’T YOU PLAY WITH MY FRIEND FIRST!”**

The shadow tendrils that were coming after him pulled back, but that did nothing to relieve Seno as out of the darkness, a black giant appeared and approached him.

The shadow giant was a familiar Sakura made out of her Hollow Element. Compared to the shadow giants Sakura could have made under the influence of Angra Mainyu, it was comparatively tiny. But it was still over three metres tall (ten feet) and more than capable of fighting a jounin head on.

Seno cursed some more and threw a lightning charged kunai at the giant. He might as well have saved the kunai as it bounced off the giant’s skin, making it look at him with its many glowing purple eyes.

“What are you!!!” Seno yelled helplessly. Even in the war when the Yellow Flash was massacring his comrades, he had never felt so helpless. At least then, he could comprehend what was going on. He used his speed to appear among their ranks and killed them with a slash through the throat. Terrifying but comprehensible.

Those shadow tendrils and now this shadow giant were beyond his understanding. This was not how Naras would fight according to what his sensei and the Academy taught him! This was not how they fought according to his experiences fighting them in the war! The Naras he fought were methodical and calculated, always several steps ahead of you and manipulated you to get caught by their shadows. There was nothing methodical or calculative about this! Just sheer brute power!

Seno tried to fight the shadow giant as it approached, having no other option as all his escape routes were blocked by shadow tendrils. Giving it a hard kick, he managed to make it stumble back slightly. That gave him some hope that this thing could be killed.

He fought more earnestly now, coating his fists with lightning chakra and pounded away at it, releasing all his frustration and fear on it. His punches seemed to be doing something as its form seemed to shake with every punch.

Jumping back, Seno went through a chain of hand seals.

Snake. Tiger. Dog. Ram. “Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon!”

A dragon made of lightning left Seno’s mouth and headed for the shadow giant. The shadow giant took the jutsu head on, writhing for a bit as the lightning dragon electrocuted it then detonated.

Seno panted as he caught his breath. Hopefully, that was enough to destroy it. However, as the dust dispersed, Seno looked on in horror as the shadow giant still stood.

‘No time for fear,’ Seno thought to himself as he went through another chain of hand seals.

Ram. Bird. Boar. Dragon. Snake. He held out his hands as lightning chakra gathered into a ball in his hands. “Lightning Release: Raijin’s Wrath!”

The ball of lightning was launched at the shadow giant, striking it with great force then detonating into waves of electricity. It was one of the few A-rank jutsu that Seno had mastered.

Fortunately, this time the shadow giant did not get back up. It dissolved into shadows, unable to keep its form after taking such a powerful jutsu.

Seno sighed in relief as the giant dissolved. Now if only he could get out of here.

**“NOT BAD,”** the demon girl said, making herself known again. **“BUT I’M DONE PLAYING.”**

To Seno’s horror, four more of the shadow giants came out of the darkness and the shadow tendrils were back as they surrounded him. He never stood a chance as the giants held him down and the tendrils bound him and drained him of his chakra.

Finally, the demon girl showed herself for the first time since the fight, no slaughter, began. However, she was much changed from the violet-haired girl who confronted him earlier.

Physically, she was the same in terms of body and size, barely half his height. However, where before she had violet hair and eyes, her hair was now white and her eyes red. She wore a long black dress made of black ribbons, that was trimmed in the same red as the tendrils earlier. On her face, dress and legs were red markings glowing the same red as well. She was the most terrifying thing Seno had ever seen.

“What are you?” Seno asked helplessly. Shadows began creeping up his body and would soon cover his head.

**“What am I?”** the demon in a girl’s skin pondered. Looking him in the eye, she answered. **“The last thing you will ever see!”**

Having said that, the shadow completely covered his head, muffling his tormented screams as the man once known as Seno Shichiro lost his mind.

*Line Break*

“I think we overdid it,” Sakura said as she poked the comatose man with a stick. Physically, he was unharmed, but his eyes were dull, and drool was flowing out of his mouth as he laid there, unmoving.

She was now back to normal; BB having had her fun tormenting the poor man. Usually, Sakura would refrain from unleashing BB’s full terror on anyone, but an exception was made just this once. Besides, it was his own fault for taking part in trying to kidnap Hinata-chan. Hopefully either Rin or Shirou was taking care of the kidnapper.

**‘Nah, he had it coming!’** BB defended. **‘What if it was Shikamaru-kun?’**

‘I’d slaughter them all!’ Sakura immediately thought back, conceding the point to her dark half.

**‘See! If anything, we were lenient on him,’** BB said.

‘He’s practically a vegetable,’ Sakura stated.

**‘Exactly! I could have kept him sane, to be forever tormented by nightmares of what we just did to him. Instead, he’ll just never wake up again.’**

‘Well, I guess there are worse fates. Not many top this one though.’

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!” a man screamed out in pain some distance away.

**‘Sounds like nee-san is done,’** BB said as a man experienced one of those fates they were just talking about.

‘Let’s make our way there. Oh, I hope Hinata-chan is alright!’

Sakura made a shadow giant, a human-sized one this time, to carry the comatose man for her and headed towards where the scream of pain came from.

In her wake, merely a few felled trees were evidence of the events that took place here. Ironically, she was the one who left behind the least collateral damage in the course of her battle.

*Line Break*

Rin was checking up on Hinata with her magecraft. Fortunately, it seemed that she was merely sedated with a drug and would wake up in a few hours. Hinata was still in her barrier, Rin not taking any chances until reinforcements arrived. She periodically activated her Byakugan, both to watch out for any more enemies and to check in on Shirou and Sakura.

Shirou was the first to reach her, carrying his target on his back looking quite comical as a child carried a man more than twice his size easily, as if he weighed less than a feather.

“You’re late,” Rin said as if he was late for a date and not coming to her with a heavily bleeding man on his back. “And I thought you said to take them alive if we could?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Shirou grumbled as he put the bleeding man on the ground. “Can you heal him?”

“Sure,” Rin said as she went to do so. She stopped the bleeding but left the wounds where they were, no point wasting energy fully healing an enemy. He would live, that was enough for Rin.

“You can dismiss these,” Rin waved the Black Keys he gave her before they split up. “I didn’t need them. You can dismiss the ones you gave Sakura as well. She’s on her way here.”

“Is Hinata alright?” Shirou asked as he dismissed both pairs of Black Keys.

“She’s fine,” Rin answered. “Just sedated.”

“What did you do to him?” Shirou asked as he looked at the man who had kidnapped Hinata. He was still bound in the magical rope that Rin had conjured, but he twitched every now and then despite being unconscious. Also, his lower extremities were smoking.

“Oh, him?” Rin said. “Just some electro-therapy. I hear that it helps with men who have trouble getting ‘it’ up. Or was it the other way around?”

Shirou backed away from Rin, barely refraining from covering his family jewels. Her vindictiveness was showing, though he couldn’t say that the man didn’t deserve it.

It was at that time that Sakura arrived with a comatose man being carried by a shadow giant.

“Sorry about him,” Sakura apologized as she dismissed her familiar. “BB went a bit overboard.”

“That’s fine,” Rin said. “We have two prisoners that can answer questions, one of them the mastermind. That’s more than enough.” Activating her Byakugan, Rin frowned. “Backups on their way. Took them long enough!”

“You should modify their memories,” Shirou suggested. “I don’t know about you two, but I used Projection a lot during my fight.”

“Hmm, he won’t be a problem,” Sakura said, gesturing to her comatose victim. 

“Good idea, Shirou,” Rin said. “It shouldn’t take too long to change the last fifteen minutes of their memories. Maybe make it ANBU who defeated them instead of three five-year-olds.”

Rin proceeded to do so, finishing changing the memories of the two still coherent prisoners to show them being attacked by ANBU agents instead of the three of them. Just in time for Hiashi and several Hyuugas, including her uncle, to burst in where they were.

“Rin?” Hiashi said, surprised. His eyes widened further as he took in the three unconscious Kumo nin at their feet, along with the barrier that was around his youngest daughter.

“Is there a medic with you?” Rin asked. “Hinata-chan’s been drugged.”

Without further prodding, a Hyuuga came forward and approached Hinata. Rin dismissed the barrier around Hinata, letting the medic do his job.

“She will be fine,” the medic told them after checking Hinata with a medical ninjutsu. “She was merely sedated and should wake up in the morning with no long-term side effects. Though she might feel groggy and dehydrated when she wakes up, depending on the type of drug used.” 

“The three of you did all this?” Hizashi asked in disbelief as he took in the devastation around him.

“Oh, this?” Rin said. “No. This was all me. Shirou and Sakura’s fight was a kilometre or so east and west of here.”

That merely got more looks of disbelief from her clansmen. Hmm, must be Branch House shinobi then. No way was a member of the Main House going to get caught with anything but a stoic expression on his face.

Hiashi felt immense pride at the fact that his daughter managed to defeat the Head Ninja of Kumogakure without injuries. And the fact that her friends managed to defeat two jounins as well, displaying the superiority of his clan and Konoha shinobi.

Finally, Uchiha Military Police, ANBU and several general forces shinobi arrived.

“Nearly twenty minutes!” Rin complained loudly as she glared at them. “That’s how long it took you all to arrive after I sent up the flare!”

The shinobi looked a bit chastised at being scolded by a five-year-old. It wasn’t their fault that the flare came from such a remote area with few patrols. This area was mostly looked after by the Hyuuga clan after all.

“Tsk, whatever,” Rin said. “Anyone here have any rope? Those energy bindings aren’t exactly permanent.”

An Uchiha policeman came forward, handcuffs and chakra suppression seals in hand. He cuffed the three Kumo nin and applied the seal on them, letting Rin dismiss the magical bindings.

The three Kumo nin were taken by ANBU, no doubt to be interrogated later. Good thing that Rin had already modified their memories.

“Now if you’ll excuse us,” Rin said. “We will be headed for Shirou’s house.” Rin went to lift Hinata up.

“Now wait just a moment,” another officer said. “We’ll need to take your statement on what just happened here!”

“And you should be going to the clan compound,” a Hyuuga who Rin did not deem important enough to remember said.

Rin glared coldly at them, making them take a step back. After seeing what those three did to fully grown shinobi, none of them were interested in provoking the three.

“You can take our statement over there,” Sakura said. “And the Hyuuga clan compound has already been infiltrated once, what’s stopping any unknown accomplices from doing so again?”

Hiashi growled at the reminder of his clan’s security breach. “At least take your uncle with you. For extra security.”

Shirou sighed. “I supposed I can accommodate him for at least the night. No doubt my place is going to be swarming with guards. Is that acceptable to you, Uchiha-san?”

The officer in charge considered it before nodding in agreement. They could give their statement from their home if that was what they wanted. “Where is your house?”

“The Toko compound,” Hiashi said for them. “My brother will be there as well as clan representative, my daughter is still a minor after all. No doubt Shikaku-sama will also send someone to be with Sakura-chan when he hears about this. Shirou-kun will also be represented by my clan, if that is alright with you?”

Shirou nodded, he was fine with that. Rin’s father was a good man after all, underneath all of the formality and stiffness he had as head of a noble clan.

The officer frowned but there was nothing he could do about it. It was their legal right after all, especially since the three were minors. Though the fact that the Toko boy was being taken under the Hyuuga clan’s aegis was interesting.

Sigh, the officer prepared for a sleepless night as the children left with their Hyuuga guard. They would have to coordinate with ANBU and the Intelligence Division no doubt, especially since this was probably a diplomatic incident and concerned village security. Though he wondered what they would find from investigating the battlegrounds and the children’s statements. No doubt, whatever they find would prove interesting.

*End*

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter will be about the aftermath. Stay safe and remember, Skadi is coming soon so save up!**

**Omake 1**

The two medics looked over at their patient. Their patient was one Ikeda Gina, the supposed “Head ninja” of Kumogakure. He was restrained on the bed and had seals on him suppressing his chakra so even if he woke up, he wasn’t going anywhere.

If that wasn’t enough, the ANBU squad in the room would be more than enough to stop him.

“What did the Hyuuga kid do to him?” one medic asked as he checked the man using a medical Ninjutsu.

“He’s the lucky one,” his partner said. “The one the pink-haired kid fought had two deep gashes on his chest. He just barely missed any major organs but did cut several ribs and his sternum. And let’s not even get started on the one Shikaku-sama’s niece fought. They still can’t wake him up.”

“This guy definitely seems intact, must be cause the girl wanted him whole for interrogato- Oh Dear God!”

The two began to check his lower body and paled immediately.

“I take that back,” the second medic said, his hands shaking. “He’s the unlucky one!”

“…” the first one whimpered as he covered his family jewels. He threw up in the corner, soon joined by his partner. They had seen the results of an Uchiha burning a man to a crisp before and didn’t even flinch. But this, this was on a whole nother level.

The ANBU squad in the room took a look at what had the medics puking out their dinner, the male agents paling immediately under their masks while the sole female agent looked impressed and interested. It was a testament to their training and toughness that they didn’t join the medics in puking out the contents of their stomachs.

His crotch was burned to a crisp, blackened flesh where his _organs_ should’ve been. All that was left was a tiny shriveled up nub that looked more like a pimple than what was supposed to be there.

News soon spread among the village’s male population and Hyuuga Rin became the youngest ever person to be credited with the creation of an S-rank Kinjutsu. 

Coincidentally, the Konoha Torture and Interogation corps managed to extract information much faster than usual from any male interogees that they hosted from then on.

**Omake 2 (Because someone gave me the idea and it wouldn’t leave my head until I wrote it)**

“So bored,” Boruto said. The son of the Nanadaime Hokage was walking aimlessly in the village’s market area, looking for something to do. He would play a game with his console, but even that was getting stale with how often he played it.

“Yo, Boruto!” someone called out to him, catching his attention.

“Shikadai?” Boruto said. He walked over to him. “What is it Shikadai?”

Shikadai showed him the game on his smartphone. “You have got to check out this new game that Rin-oba came up with! It’s called Fate/Grand Order. It just released last week and already it’s topping the charts!”

Boruto shivered at the mention of his Rin-oba’s name. She was the dreaded aunt who loved to pinch cheeks. He could still feel the phantom pains in his left cheek.

At least Sakura-oba baked him those heavenly brownies before doing that!

Curious, Boruto looked at what Shikadai was playing. It didn’t take long for him to be hooked and download the same game minutes later.

*Line Break*

“Why am I only a one-star! I should be a five-star limited time Servant damn it!” Kiba complained as he looked through a magazine. It was a magazine about the latest, hottest game currently being played based on real life current and historical figures as playable characters.

Curious at what the kids were so interested in, Kiba bought the magazine on a whim and looked through it, looking to see if the game had himself. What he found did not make him happy.

“What is it, Kiba? You are making a scene,” Shino said. He was hoping to catch up with his old teammate during lunch, his job as an Academy teacher taking up much time and he rarely met with his friends these days, despite interacting with their children for most of the week.

Kiba shoved the magazine in Shino’s face. “Look at this! Why are my stats so low?! And why am I a common one while Naruto is a five-star limited time Servant?! And there are three versions of him that can be summoned!”

Shino adjusted his visor as he sighed at his friend’s childishness. “Kiba, is that really important? It’s just a game that children find interesting. Though I will admit that it will motivate my students to be more interested in history class.”

“Well, your character is not much better! You’re just a two-star!” Kiba said.

“Eh?” Shino snatched the magazine out of Kiba’s hand and flipped through it. Sure enough, a picture of himself during the war was there, in the two-star Servant page.

“I see,” Shino said quietly. “Let us find Hinata’s character. Perhaps she will share our pain in being a low-level game character.”

The two flipped the magazine, looking for their third teammate’s character.

“N-n-no way!” Kiba exclaimed. “A four-star servant!”

“And such impressive skills as well as a powerful Noble Phantasm,” Shino said. “This is surely nepotism at work here.”

“Yeah, no way is Hinata’s sister making her a weak common character,” Kiba agreed.

The two then spent the rest of their lunch looking through the profiles of their classmates’ characters. To their dismay, they found that they were the lowest ranked ones of their class while both Naruto and Sasuke were five-star Servants.

Hell, even Ino was a three-star!

*Line Break*

“My Eternal Rival!” Gai called out as he moved his wheelchair over to his long-time friend and rival. “This time, I have beaten you in the contest of popularity!”

“Oh, did you say something Gai?” Kakashi asked as he looked up from his book.

“Curse your hip and cool attitude! But I will not be deterred!” Gai yelled. Even wheelchair-bound, his enthusiasm never diminished from their younger years. “Look!”

Kakashi read the page of the magazine Gai was showing him.

_Name : Maito Gai aka Konoha’s Green Beast (Four-star)_

_Class : Berserker_

_Strength : A++_

_Agility : A_

_Luck : C_

_Endurance : A++_

_Chakra : D_

_Noble Phantasm : A++_

_ Passive Skills _

_YOUTH : EX_

_Greatly increases HP if fellow Youth Practitioner is on the field._

_Madness Enhancement : C_

_Increases Buster Performance_

_ Active Skills _

_Eight Gates : A+_

_Increase attack for yourself but decreases HP in return._

_The Power of YOUTH : EX_

_Increases attack for the whole party and increases NP gauge for all YOUTH Servants_

_Natural Body(Youth): B+_

_Increase Defense for 3 turns, Increase Debuff Resistance, and Recover own HP_

_ Noble Phantasm _

_Night Guy : A++ BUSTER_

_Deals heavy damage to a single enemy with 500% chance of Death for yourself._

_Overcharge: Deal more Damage._

“Hmm” Kakashi said as he finished reading. “Not bad, not bad at all.”

“Now,” Gai said, “let us look at your page!”

Gai flipped to Kakashi’s page and the two of them read it together.

_Name : Hatake Kakashi aka Kakashi of the Sharingan aka Nidaime White Fang aka Rokudaime Hokage (Five-star)_

_Class : Saber_

_Strength : B_

_Agility : B+_

_Luck : A_

_Endurance : B_

_Chakra : C+_

_Noble Phantasm : A++_

_ Passive Skills _

_Lightning Affinity : A_

_Greatly decreases effectiveness when attacked by lightning-based attacks_

_Master of Five Elements : B_

_Decreases cost when using elemental attacks_

_ Active Skills _

_Sharingan (Implanted): A-_

_Protects yourself from charm and stun and applies Evade buff for yourself for three hits in 5 turns_

_Raikiri : EX_

_Ignores Invincible and increases Buster card effectiveness for yourself_

_Hokage : A+_

_Increases attack for whole party as well as decrease defence for all enemies_

_ Noble Phantasm  _

_White Light Chakra Sabre : A++ BUSTER_

_Deals heavy damage for a single enemy and applies Buster resist down as well as Ignores Invincible._

_Overcharge: Increase Buster resist Down._

_Alternate NP(Needs Hokage Costume Equipped)_

_Village Hidden in the Leaves: EX ARTS_

_Buff all Konoha-Trait Servants in your party, increasing defense, attack and HP._

_Overcharge: Increase Critical Damage up_

_Alternate NP (Unlocked after completing Kakashi Gaiden Interlude)_

_Kamui : EX QUICK_

_Instantly causes Death for a single enemy but decreases NP gain for next 5 turns._

“Well,” Kakashi said as Gai’s face fell a little. “Looks like I have weaker stats but my skills sure make up for it. And at least I won’t instantly die when I use my Noble Phantasm. Not to mention that I have a higher rarity than you. As well as multiple Noble Phantasms that can be changed depending on my outfit.”

“Curse you my rival! I will be sure to complain about this to your former students! I survived using Night Guy!”

“Barely,” Kakashi whispered as he continued to read his book. Ah Jiraiya-sama, even after decades he still never got bored of his books. Especially after the author of that mysterious “Kama Sutra” gave Jiraiya some advice.

*Line Break*

“Yes! Yes!” Rin cackled as more and more people downloaded the game she helped make and used real money to buy Chakra Quartz. Soon, she would be rolling in even more money as people spent money to get servants from the Gacha!

“Mah, and to think that she used to have trouble even using a smartphone,” Shirou commented as he read the current figures. Over a million downloads in the first month. Not bad.

“Do you think that we might have done a bad thing?” Sakura asked. “Introducing the horrors of Gacha to this world?”

“What does it matter?!” Rin said. “What matters is that people keep spending money to roll a five-star Namikaze Minato or Senju Hashirama! Yes! Soon, I will have limitless money to buy all the jewels I will ever need!”

And so, that was how Rin introduced the shinobi world to the horrors of Gacha and profited off it. Those poor, poor souls. May the Gacha gods be kind to them.

Oh who am I kidding, let the salt flow!!!

**I couldn’t help it. The idea just wouldn’t leave my head!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Sorry, this came out later. Had tests the past two weeks and the 3rd Anniversary on FGO. I'm sure you all can see how far down this chapter was on my priorities.**

**Skadi abandoned me by the way, after over 300 SQ. But at least I got the Archers Tesla and EMIYA so it's not all bad.**

**Chapter deals with the aftermath of the last chapter.**

**Betaed by Danga. (Who got two Skadis in one Multi)**

**Gudako/ Author: "Damn you!"**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 9

Hiruzen inwardly sighed. 'What a mess.'

It was approaching midnight and the entire clan council was called into an emergency session. The events just a few hours ago where three five-year-olds stopped a Bloodline Theft attempt by Kumo was what brought the clan heads of Konoha's most powerful clans out of their beds and into the council chambers.

It had been not even a day after signing a peace treaty before Kumo tried to violate it! Already, he had the general forces on alert and the recalling of reservist and retired shinobi who were still fit for active duty was being readied. If things came to a head, Konoha would once again be at war less than half a decade after the last one.

The clan heads gathered here tonight included the Senju, a representative since his old student Tsunade was still officially clan head despite having never taken up the mantle, Uchiha, Hyuuga, Aburame, Akimichi, Nara, Inuzuka, Kurama, Sarutobi, represented by his eldest son, and Shimura, who his old friend was still head of.

Konoha had more clans, but they were smaller and less prestigious when compared to the clans sitting on the council.

Koharu and Homura were here as well as members of the Hokages Advisory Council. There was a civilian representative there as well, representing the village's civilian population. The Yamanaka clan head was still not present, Inoichi having gone to T&I to personally extract the information from the Kumo nin's minds. Once he and the ANBU Commander arrived, the emergency session would officially begin.

The civilian representative sitting next to Hiashi was giving the man a wide berth. Despite his outwardly controlled and calm demeanour, Hiashi had an aura of barely contained rage. Understandable, his daughter was almost kidnapped not two hours ago, and his other daughter and her friends were the ones who had to stop them, otherwise, they would be halfway across the Land of Fire by now with Hinata.

Hiruzen had stationed two full ANBU squads in addition to the one already guarding Naruto to guard the Toko compound. They had to stand watch outside though since the entire compound seemed to be surrounded by a barrier of sorts. Hyuuga Hizashi amusedly told the ANBU captain in charge that Rin-chan had apparently activated the lethal settings before she and the other two children collapsed in exhaustion.

The only ones inside the barrier were the three, Naruto, Hinata, Hizashi, some Nara clansman Shikaku had sent named Ensui, Anko who immediately went back once she heard the news and the ANBU squad that was already inside when the barrier came up.

Just after midnight, Inoichi finally walked into the chamber along with ANBU Commander Hound. Inoichi was holding a file that no doubt contained whatever information he had extracted from their Kumo 'guests', while Hound held a stack of copies.

"Ah, Inoichi-san," Hiruzen said as Inoichi took his seat while Bear stood to the side. "I trust that you have had a productive night?"

"Unfortunately, not as productive as any of us would have liked," Inoichi grimaced. "I had to do a Mind Walk for the two since their injuries meant that our regular methods were unavailable due to time constraints."

"Two?" Danzo inquired. "I believed that there were three perpetrators, all captured alive."

"Well," Inoichi said, "I can safely say that the one that fought Sakura, Shikaku's niece," he explained as some of the other clan heads wondered who Sakura was, "won't be waking up anytime soon. He is, for all intents and purposes, complete and utterly braindead."

"How did a girl not even in the Academy accomplish that?" Uchiha Fugaku asked. "Some kind of Genjutsu maybe?"

"Inconclusive," Inoichi said. "Aside from some bruising on his knuckles, indicating some limited hand to hand fighting, there were no other physical signs of conflict. Mind walking into his mind showed me absolutely nothing of value. The last coherent memory I managed to extract was shadows completely covering him in darkness with some red highlights as well."

"Anything to add Shikaku-sama?" Koharu asked.

Shikaku frowned. "That is nothing like any of my clan's jutsus. The fact that she managed to use her shadows in the dark of a moonless night is interesting. As some of you might know, my clan's jutsus require a light source, be it natural or artificial, that produces a distinct enough shadow that we can use. Then again, Sakura-chan's brand of shadows has always been unique, unrecorded in my clan's entire history."

Inoichi and Hound passed copies of the files to the councilmen, containing pictures and reports on their three prisoners.

"What happened to him!" the civilian representative exclaimed. He was reading the part stating the condition of the three prisoners and had just read the part detailing Ikeda's injuries. Curious, the other members there flipped to that part as well, causing some of the male members to flinch at the ghastly sight of Ikeda's manly bits. The shinobi moved on to more important bits of the dossier, eager to not think about the utter destruction of Ikeda's procreation capabilities. They had seen their fair share of gore from either battle or torture, but this was still quite a gruesome image.

Hiashi was outwardly unchanged but inside, fatherly pride swelled within him at the vengeance his daughter wrought upon the man who dared to kidnap Hinata. The part of him that was a man did inwardly cringe at the photo though that was outweighed by the father within him.

"Hahaha!" Inuzuka Tsume laughed. "I like your girl's style, Hiashi. Think she could give me a few pointers?"

The male shinobi barely managed to restrain a wince at such a technique going public.

"Let us leave that aside for now," Hiashi said. "What I want to know is how those three Kumo nins managed to evade our security so well? Were there no Uchiha Military Police patrols within the area?"

Fugaku frowned at the accusation. "There was. However, Patrol Squad 9 was diverted to investigate a disturbance some distance away, believing that the Hyuuga would react to anything that came up fine on their own. Under normal circumstances, it should have taken them no more than five minutes to cross the distance from their patrol route to the Hyuuga compound. The disturbance that they investigated turned out to be nothing and we are investigating if it was a distraction set up by Kumo to keep us away from the Hyuuga compound."

"I can confirm that," Inoichi said. "Ikeda had set up a distraction earlier to divert attention and buy himself time to escape should he be discovered. Along with that, I can say that this kidnapping mission of theirs was in no way sanctioned by the Raikage."

"Elaborate on that," Hiruzen ordered immediately as the others in the chamber gave Inoichi their full attention.

Inoichi opened up the file on what they had managed to extract from the two Kumo nins so far.

"Our three prisoners are Ikeda Gina, Higashi Kazuhiro and Seno Shichiro, Kumo's Head Ninja and two newly promoted Jounin. From what I can tell, Ikeda desired to make off with a Hyuuga Main House girl so that eventually, Kumo would have its own clan of Doujutsu wielders in a generation. The two Jounin are newly promoted ones, under normal circumstances they would be Tokubetsu Jounin if we're being generous, but war casualties meant that they were promoted to full Jounin without the necessary rounded skill set that a Jounin should possess. They were both on the same team and saw their sensei get killed in combat against a Hyuuga as well as one of their teammates."

"So, revenge then?" Chouza sighed.

"That's what all the evidence points to." Inoichi agreed. "However, we could not find out how they managed to get such detailed information on our in-village patrols or how they got their hands on seals that I thought only we have. It would seem that his memories were altered with a Genjutsu during the transaction."

“Troublesome," Shikaku muttered as he read through the files. "So, our security is compromised. Looks like we'll have to root out the moles that other villages have embedded within Konoha."

Inoichi and Hound grimaced, the latter's hidden under his mask. That was going to be so much fun. The villages would always spy on each other, and the Intelligence Division kept an eye on the ones they knew about, feeding them false information and keeping them away from anything important. It was the ones that were unknown to them that were dangerous.

"Their fights against the three children is also a mystery," Inoichi said. "Somehow, two of their memories were completely altered to show ANBU teams ambushing them and inflicting injuries that match up exactly with the ones on them."

"How?" Senju Kenshi asked. "It would take a very powerful Genjutsu, the Sharingan or even your clan's Hiden techniques to accomplish such a feat."

Inoichi had already thought about that. "Not quite. Whatever was done to them, it was not like what my clan does. Different approaches with similar results. It's quite fascinating really."

"Enough about that," Hiashi said. "What are we going to do about this violation of the treaty from Kumo? Surely they must be made to pay for their transgressions?"

That got several nods of agreement from the gathered clan heads. Kumo must pay for this.

"And if they force the issue?" Shikaku asked, playing devil's advocate. "What if the Raikage tries to imply that we are the ones in the wrong?"

"Then it will be war," Danzo answered easily enough. Hiruzen sighed inwardly at that.

'You have not changed a bit, my old friend,' Hiruzen lamented inwardly before saying, "Let us not be so hasty about that. It might not come to that."

"Besides," Shikaku added, "that won't be a war we can win."

The rest of the clan heads seemed to agree with Shikaku's statement, they were still recovering and were in no shape to fight a war with anyone, much less the heavily militant village of Kumo.

When the Third Shinobi World War started, Konoha had over twenty thousand shinobi available. Now, after the war and the Kyuubi, they were lucky to field maybe fifteen thousand including reserves. Kumo meanwhile had already recovered from their war casualties, intelligence reports suggesting that they were capable of fielding maybe twenty-five thousand shinobi of various ranks and seemed to be further militarizing, despite all five villages having agreed to lower military spending at the end of the war.

"With our disparity in numbers, we would be on the defensive from the start," Shikaku said. "Though of course, we know the Land of Fire better than Kumo ever will and we can most definitely make it so that any war is costly for them, they have two Jinchuriki, both trained and war veterans as well as several notably strong shinobi."

That got several frowns out of the shinobi present. There were shinobi, then there were shinobi. Shinobi strong enough to decimate dozens of their counterparts with ease, S-rank shinobi. Army killers that were usually limited to the Kages of the shinobi villages and a few others. Like Jinchuriki, an army with an S-rank at the front could easily turn the tide of any battle, as seen when their very own Yondaime singlehandedly decimated a thousand Iwa nin in a single battle and the Sandaime Raikage's three-day battle against ten thousand shinobi, killing off a large chunk of them before finally dying. They were a rare breed, and Konoha had lost quite a few of them.

"Yondaime-sama is dead, his wife with him. Our only Jinchuriki is too young to even enter the Academy. Jiraiya wanders the nations maintaining his spy network while drinking and whoring away. Tsunade is practically a missing-nin. Let's not forget Orochimaru who turned traitor just a few years ago and no doubt still knows many of our secrets and has moles throughout our entire village!"

Hiruzen was visibly saddened at the reminder of his failure to stop his student. A sign to him that he was now too old for the rigours of being Hokage.

"Surely the situation is not that dire," the civilian representative said. "We have rising stars like Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi. Powerhouses in their own right and plenty of Jounin who survived the war."

"They're certainly capable," Hiruzen said. "I would say that they would give any of us here a good fight, but they are not that good yet. And while we have several promising shinobi born in the new generation like Fugaku's son, Itachi, they are still young and have much room to grow. I would rather we not lose the flower of our youth to another war just a few years after the last."

"So, we will bend and give the Raikage what he wants then," Danzo said, making it plain what he thought about that. "Unacceptable!"

"Danzo," Koharu chided at his outburst. "None of us here are proposing that."

"We must not show weakness to Kumo," Homura advised. "We must make it clear that this peace treaty was because we desired peace, not because we lacked the will to wage war."

"Do we?" Aburame Shibi asked, breaking his usual silence to add his opinion. "Do we have the will to wage another war so close after the last one ended?"

Many there were silent, not willing to answer that. Hiruzen sighed, he had seen three wars and sent thousands of young men and women to their deaths. He was tired damn it and just wanted to retire in peace and enjoy spoiling his grandson.

“We will do whatever we must," Hiruzen said, standing up. "We shall stand by the Will of Fire, as the Shodaime wanted us to, and do our utmost best to see this through like we have all crises before this. Whatever comes of this, we will face it and see that Konoha comes out of this in the best position possible. Hiashi, Inoichi and Shikaku, join me in my office. The rest of you are dismissed."

Hiruzen walked out of the chamber, dismissing the council. Those he had ordered to follow him out as soon as he left the chamber. Some of the councilmen stayed behind to talk about the meeting earlier but eventually they too left, eager to get what sleep they could before they had to start the day.

Only one man remained when all others had left. Danzo stared at the open doors, glaring at the image of Hiruzen leaving in his mind. Plots and plans flew through his mind as he did his best to find a way to salvage this situation. He had already killed all the middlemen he had used to provide Ikeda with the materials he needed to get this far, Ikeda himself having had his mind altered by a Yamanaka under his command to be unable to link any involvement he had to this.

Of course, he had his own men stationed to ambush them once they got out of the village, no reason to practically gift wrap the Byakugan to Kumo after all. And in time, he would be able to add a Hyuuga to his ranks.

He had hoped that the "successful" kidnapping of a Hyuuga, the daughter of the Hyuuga clan head nonetheless, would see Hiruzen's place as Hokage be questioned, thus paving a path for him to take over. Now, those plans were thrown out the window with three children somehow taking down three Kumo Jounin.

He had no doubt that only one of them was truly a Jounin in combat ability, but even if the other two were merely Chunin promoted above their ability, three five-year-olds should not be able to fight them on equal footing and defeat them soundly, prodigies or not. Even the Uchiha prodigy Itachi would not be able to fight a war veteran and win in a straight fight.

He would have to keep a closer eye on those three. Before they had intrigued him, now they had his undivided attention.

Let it be known, a hawk's attention is never a good thing.

*Line Break*

Hiruzen smoked his pipe, the tobacco soothing his nerves as he sat behind his desk.

In front of him, Inoichi, Shikaku and Hiashi were silent as they waited for their Hokage to address them. Inoichi was writing on the report in his hand, adding theories and speculations about his division's latest 'guests'.

Shikaku was slouched over, deep in thought about the night's events. He was playing with two shogi pieces that he kept on hand, a habit that he had mostly gotten over but resurfaced when he was stressed. His niece could have died tonight! Sure, she turned out to be the only one of the three to come out with no injuries and the other two had a few scratches and bruises at most, but still!

Hiashi was the image of a stoic Hyuuga warrior, giving nothing away about what was going through his mind. He would have to see to it that his dead clansman's family was looked after and investigate how a Kumo nin managed to get in and out of the clan compound without anyone in a clan of shinobi with all-seeing eyes noticing him!

Finally, Hiruzen decided to get to the reason he called them here. "Inoichi, in my report you left a note that you wished to talk to me about the prisoners in private and bring along Shikaku and Hiashi. Well, if you would enlighten us on what you wished to discuss away from the ears of the council."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Inoichi said as the others looked at him curiously. Did it have to do with the three children?

"While whoever changed their memories was good," Inoichi explained. "I was still able to get a glimpse of the actual fights from two of them. Namely, the fight with Hiashi's daughter and the Toko boy."

"Nothing from Sakura-chan's victim?" Shikaku asked.

"Nothing that I didn't already tell you all," Inoichi said. "It's like the fight was so traumatic that his mind had retreated deep into his subconscious. I'm not sure if he'd ever wake up even if I do my best to bring his conscious mind back."

"How unfortunate," Shikaku said in a tone that indicated that he was not sorry at all. "What did you get from the other two?"

"Clips and portions of their fights against Hyuuga Rin and Toko Shirou," Inoichi answered. "I didn't get all of it, but what I saw was enough for me to bring this up to you three in private."

Hiashi frowned, wondering if it had anything to do with the mysterious energy in the extra coils he had observed in the three children. He would hear what Inoichi had to say and tell them of it if it became relevant.

"They didn't fight like shinobi would normally fight," Inoichi said. "The two displayed abilities that are clearly not chakra-based. I saw the Hyuuga use techniques that were definitely not any kind of Ninjutsu I had ever heard of. And the Toko boy was materializing weapons out of thin air and firing them as projectiles. Not to mention they did not fight like children."

"Explain," Hiruzen prompted, fascinated by what he was hearing.

"They moved like seasoned fighters," Inoichi went on. "During Toko's fight with his opponent, he alternated between close combat with twin swords and firing his materialized swords at him. His movement was flawless, not a single swing wasted and used his projectiles to control the pace of the battle to his advantage. I didn't see the end of the fight, but what I saw was enough to suggest to me that Toko has experience fighting. That kind of skill takes more than talent, it takes years of live combat and training to reach, something a five-year-old most definitely should not have."

"And my daughter?" Hiashi inquired, having come to a decision whether to inform them or not. "What did you glimpse from her opponent?"

"Mostly a Ninjutsu battle," Inoichi answered. "Your daughter mostly kept the distance between them. She blinded him at the end with one of her jewels and finished him off with your clan's Gentle Fist. Eight Trigrams 128 Palms I remember her shouting."

Hiashi's eyes widened. "That man should have been crippled by 64 palms! Either he was more resilient than a normal shinobi or my daughter has not yet mastered that." He would have to insist upon further training later, no more excuses. He was sure that Rin would not object this time.

"Probably the latter," Inoichi said. "However, she too moved like a seasoned warrior. Using her unknown attacks and Ninjutsu to manoeuvre him for a surprise chakra flare to blind his implanted Byakugan. Before you ask, we have already removed it and are awaiting further instructions on what to do with it."

"Dispose of it," Hiruzen said at once. "I highly doubt that the Hyuuga clan will be happy to hear that an outsider managed to get one of their vaunted eyes."

"I agree," Hiashi growled out at the reminder. "If you would allow it, I would like to be the one to do so. In order to confirm its destruction to my clan, you understand."

"I have no objections to it," Hiruzen said as Inoichi nodded. "If there is nothing else?"

"Actually," Hiashi said. "There is something about the children that I should mention."

Hiashi told the three about the extra coils in the children and the mysterious energy it contained.

"Interesting," Hiruzen said after Hiashi finished explaining everything he knew about it.

"I apologize for keeping it secret for so long," Hiashi apologized. "But it concerned my daughter and her friends, and I didn't believe that it was something that I should have brought to your attention."

"You should have told me at least," Shikaku grumbled. "That's my niece we're talking about. So, should we confront them about it?"

“In the morning would be best," Inoichi said. "It's nearly two in the morning right now. No doubt they will be fast asleep, especially after the events of the night. I can go get their statement at the same time."

"Hmm, very well," Hiruzen said. "We shall talk to them in the morning, say nine o'clock?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the three men said, bowing their heads respectfully before leaving.

"How intriguing," Hiruzen said when he was alone. To think, even at his age there were still things he did not know. Well, one only stops learning when they die after all and he would look forward to meeting the children in the morning. Now, time to get some sleep. These old bones needed their rest after all.

*Line Break*

Rin groaned as sunlight filtered in her room. She tried to go back to sleep, hugging Hinata who was sleeping on the same bed as her. After last night, she wasn't letting Hinata leave her sight if she could help it.

"Nee-san," Hinata said, already awake. "It's morning. And why are we at Shirou-nii's house? Wasn't I back home when I went to bed?"

"Don't worry about it," Rin said as she rubbed her eyes of any remaining sleep, hiding a grimace at how sore she was feeling. No doubt Shirou would be sore as well. Five-year-old bodies were not meant to fight at Jounin level, it was a miracle that they had lasted as long as they did, Reinforcing themselves to their very limit. In fact, Sakura should be the only one of them who was in any condition to do anything physically strenuous, having not needed to reinforce her own body to keep up in her fight. She was overpowered like that.

After she and her little sister went to the bathroom connected to her bedroom to get ready for the morning, they went to the dining room. There, they found everyone else already up before them. Sakura was cooking breakfast with an unknown man helping her; her uncle was sipping some tea with Shirou at the table who was looking as sore as she was. Naruto was pestering Shirou on why he looked so bad and asking who the guy with eyes like hers was.

"Finally! You're up princess! And I see you brought the little rabbit here with you," Anko said from her place at the table. "Saw your handiwork by the way. I approve!"

Anko gave Rin a thumbs up at that, causing Rin to remember exactly what she did to the man who kidnapped her sister. Now that was a pleasant memory that she would cherish for the rest of her life.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked. "What did Rin-nee do?"

Anko pinched Naruto's left cheek. "You're too young to hear that. And I mean it too! Such an image cannot be properly appreciated by someone your age."

'No man should suffer that fate,' Hizashi thought, grimacing as he sipped his tea. He caught a glimpse of what Rin did to the Kumo nin's lower extremities, it was not pretty. Were it not for the fact that he received it for trying, and almost succeeding, to kidnap his niece, he would feel pity for the man. Was he still a man after all of that?

"Ouch! Let go! And you still haven't introduced yourself!"

"My name is Hyuuga Hizashi," he introduced. "I am Rin-sama's and Hinata-sama's uncle, here to guard them after recent events."

"Huh? Did something happen?"

"None of your concern, Naruto-chan," Anko said, finally letting go of his cheek. "Also, Hokage-sama, Shikaku-sama, your father and Inoichi-sama will be here soon to collect your statement."

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Quite a lot of important people just to collect a statement, isn't it?"

"Well, you know how it is," Anko shrugged. "Diplomatic incident and all that."

"We did beat up Kumo's diplomatic envoy and his guards," Shirou said, getting Naruto to gap at him and Hinata to look at her sister in surprise.

"You guys beat someone up! Was it someone trying to kidnap a princess! Or was he a spy! Or…or…or!"

"Breathe kid," Anko said. "And that's classified so don't go blurting that out to anyone, got it? You too, pinky."

"Ano, nee-san did you really beat up Kumo's diplomatic envoy?" Hinata asked.

Hizashi groaned. "So much for keeping it under wraps. Yes, and that's all you get to know."

"Ano, oji-san does that have anything to do with why I'm here when I went to bed at home?" Hinata asked.

"Somewhat," Hizashi said. "It's nothing you have to worry about. Your father will tell you more about it, or Rin. Depends on who does it first."

It was at this time that Sakura and the unknown man, a Nara by the looks of it, walked in with breakfast. It was a simple breakfast this time, rice, fried fish, miso soup and pickled vegetables served with tea.

"Who are you!?" Naruto asked rudely, pointing at the unknown Nara. Shirou sighed. Manners were still a hit or miss when it came to his adopted little brother. If he weren't so sore that he could barely move he would give his ears a good pulling.

Anko decided to do it for him, pulling on Naruto's right ear lightly, enough to hurt but not enough to injure. "That was rude brat. Now ask properly this time."

"Oww! I'm sorry!" Anko let go of his ear. "Hello, who are you?"

"Troublesome," the male Nara said. "I'm Nara Ensui. Got woken up at a god-awful hour last night by Shikaku-sama to look after Sakura-chan and her friends."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Ensui-san," Sakura apologized as she set down bowls of steamed rice for everyone.

Ensui waved off the apology. "You've already apologized five times since this morning. It's nothing big. Besides, it's not like I'm complaining since I'm getting free breakfast out of this."

"Ah," Sakura said. "So, you all only love me for my food. I see how it is."

Ensui chuckled at that. "Why of course! Your cookies are one of the few things that can motivate us to work! Some of the Nara wives and mothers are rather jealous of your mastery of the 'Art of Motivating a Nara'."

"Truly, a most difficult art to master," Hizashi agreed, playing along. He was not at the Hyuuga compound or in public so there was no need to act so stiff.

Everyone took their seats, clapped their hands together, said "Itadakimasu!" and dug into the meal Sakura had prepared for them.

*Line Break*

Inoichi, Shikaku, Hiashi and Hiruzen stood outside the gates of the Toko compound. They had stopped since Inoichi walked headfirst into a barrier that was keeping them out of the compound.

"Are you alright, Inoichi?" Hiruzen asked as Inoichi held his head in pain. Hiruzen was personally fascinated by the barrier in front of him. It was transparent until you ran into it and was unlike any Barrier Ninjutsu he knew of.

"I'm fine," Inoichi said, grumbling at seeing Shikaku smirk at him. Hiashi didn't show it but even he was amused by Inoichi running headfirst into the barrier. He probably saw the barrier with his Byakugan and didn't bother to warn him about it, the bastard. And who said Hyuugas didn't have a sense of humour?

"So, this is what is keeping their ANBU guards out of the compound," Hiruzen said, briefly touching the barrier. He would be fine since Inoichi looked to have run into a wall and aside from some bruising, didn't appear injured.

The barrier rippled where Hiruzen placed his hand on it, appearing before them. Soon, the barrier dispersed, letting them enter the compound.

"Looks like they opened the door for us," Shikaku said. "Well, shall we?"

The quartet entered the compound, Hiruzen nodding to the hidden ANBU squad that was in the compound standing guard. He caught a glimpse of the ANBU captain's purple hair. Hmm, that was right. Yugao-chan was Sakura-chan's aunt, maybe he should bring her in on this.

Hiruzen made a quick hand sign and the cat-masked ANBU appeared in front of him, kneeling. "Take off your mask," he ordered.

The ANBU took off her mask, revealing the beautiful young woman. "Hokage-sama," Yugao greeted.

"Come, join us," the Hokage said. "As Sakura-chan's aunt, I'm sure Shikaku would tell you whatever we'll be discussing with the children anyway unless I classify it. Might as well have you come with us."

Yugao looked down at her ANBU uniform, wordlessly asking if it was alright for the children to know.

Shikaku snorted. "Kid, they've known about it within weeks of meeting you. And no, Sakura-chan did not tell them, they just worked it out by themselves."

"Well, alright then," Yugao shrugged. It wasn't exactly against the rules to tell people close to you that you were ANBU. It only mattered if you were revealing it to those not from Konoha. Besides, the Hokage gave the OK so it's not like she would get in trouble for it anyway.

The five of them walked to the door, Hiruzen ringing the doorbell.

The door opened to reveal Rin. "Good morning, come right in. We have enough slippers for all of you, I think."

They all entered the house. Hiashi looked around at the house he had only been to a few times. Compared to his home in the Hyuuga compound, it was less decorated but had a more welcoming feel to it than the manor ever had. This was a place where fond memories were made, not a place to show off your wealth and status.

The other occupants of the house turned to face them. "Hokage-sama, nii-sama," Hizashi greeted, "Good morning to you all."

"Yo," Anko greeted casually, not at all concerned that she greeted the Hokage and her direct superior so casually. They were cool like that and had gotten used to her antics ages ago.

"Good morning, tou-sama, Hokage-sama, Yugao-san," Hinata greeted from the floor where she was playing a game with Naruto. She waved meekly at the two men she did not know, who waved back.

"Hyuuga-sama!" Naruto greeted before a grin crept up his face as he then saw the Hokage. "Jiji!" he greeted with more enthusiasm and ran over to hug him.

Hiruzen hugged his surrogate grandson. "Good morning to you too, Naruto-kun."

"Good morning," Sakura greeted politely.

"Welcome," Shirou greeted his guests. "Is this about last night?"

"Of course, this is about last night," Rin admonished. "Anko-nee already told us before breakfast."

"Sorry, sorry," Shirou said. "I wasn't exactly paying attention earlier."

The newcomers noticed the fatigue in Shirou's body, Rin's movements seemed a bit sluggish as well, obviously a consequence of last night's battle. Sakura looked fine, in fact, she seemed the most energetic of the three, something no one ever thought they would say about a Nara. Yugao frowned.

"Didn't a medic check up on you last night?" she asked. She hadn't bothered to ask for details last night when Hizashi and Ensui came over, content to wait for a formal debriefing and stood guard. If the tree she was hidden on was close to the window of her niece's bedroom, well that was just a coincidence. Perhaps she should have been more proactive.

"We'll be fine," Rin said as she took a seat on the living room's sofa. "The medic cleared us with mild chakra exhaustion and a few strained muscles. Nothing, a few days rest and relaxation can't fix. We won't be doing a repeat of last night anytime soon though."

"I made sure of it," Ensui said as he came into the living room from the kitchen. "Hokage-sama, Shikaku-sama, Inoichi-sama, Hyuuga-sama and Yugao-san. Finally decided to take off the mask and look over them yourself huh? You weren't exactly very subtle last night."

Yugao blushed a bit. She was worried when the kids came back with Hinata-chan and two others then collapsed immediately after erecting one of the strongest barriers she had ever seen. Sue her.

Sakura patted her aunt's hand. "Don't worry oba-san, I'm sure your comrades won't make fun of you for it. I'll have a word with them if they do."

Outside, Yugao's ANBU squad felt a chill go down their spine. It had them looking around frantically, trying to find the source of their dread.

But as soon as it came, it disappeared.

"Hizashi-san, Ensui-san, Anko-nee," Shirou said, "Would you mind taking Naruto and Hinata out of the house?"

"Aww! Again!" Naruto complained. "Why do we always have to leave the house when you have these 'talks'?"

Rin flicked Naruto's forehead with her finger. "Because they're private matters. If you're good, I'm sure Hizashi-oji will take you out for ice-cream."

Hizashi raised an eyebrow at that seeing as he never agreed to this. Looking towards his brother, Hiashi wordlessly gestured to go along with it. Ensui just groaned at the look his clan head gave him. "Come on kid, I hear that the ice-cream shop at Tokawa street sells the best ice-cream in the village."

"There's a shop nearby that sells great red bean soup as well," Anko said as she got up.

"Yeah, ice-cream!" Naruto said as he followed Ensui out. Hinata followed along, holding her uncle's hand. She was sweet like that and didn't need much prompting to do as asked. Anko followed along, might as well get some free sweets out of this.

There was silence for a brief moment. "I'm pretty sure this is familiar," Rin said. "Didn't this happen a few months ago as well?"

"Yes," Shikaku said, bemused. "The three of you do seem to have trouble being normal."

"If you would not mind," Inoichi said. "I would like to get a statement from you three about last night's events."

"Wasn't Uchiha-san going to come to get it?" Sakura asked.

"Normally the Uchiha Military Police would," Hiruzen said. "But the sensitive nature of last night means that a lot of it will have to be classified so the Intelligence Division took over."

The three accepted that and told them everything from when they first detected the kidnappers and omitted just how exactly they subdued them.

"I see you are not willing to tell us how you kept up against three older and more experienced shinobi," Hiashi said. "However, I would like to inform you that we are aware of the extra coils within your bodies and the unique energy it contains."

The three weren't that surprised. Rin had expected this to come up sooner or later and they had worked out a suitable version of their origins to explain things. It would give them just enough information to know what exactly they were but concealed what they didn't want to reveal. Though odds were that they would realize that they were hiding something.

"Also," Inoichi said, "whichever of you who did it, while good enough to make anyone else believe that three squads of ANBU did ambush them, I was able to catch glimpses of both Shirou-kun's and Rin-chan's fights. I saw the unknown jutsus and flying swords basically."

"Nothing from my fight?" Sakura asked.

Shikaku snorted. "Sakura-chan, whatever you did to him practically turned him into a vegetable. We won't be getting anything out of him anytime soon."

Sakura shrugged, not feeling particularly guilty about it. Yugao felt oddly proud that her little niece could apparently render men catatonic without much effort.

Rin sighed and double-checked the Bounded Field to make sure that there were no eavesdroppers or listening devices. Once she was satisfied, she prepared to tell them the abridged version of the truth.

"What do you know about reincarnation?"

*Line Break*

"Quite the story they told us," Hiruzen said as he sipped on his tea. He and Shikaku were on the porch contemplating what they were just told.

"Indeed," Shikaku agreed. "Of all the reasons this might've been able to happen, I did not expect transmigration to be one of them."

"Sakura being some sort of possessed priestess and Shirou being a demonic bladesmith is something I wouldn't imagine in my wildest dreams, but it explains all of the weird happenings around those two," Hiruzen said as he took another draft from his pipe.

"Ironically Rin has the most normal backstory of the three, with her being a magical researcher." Shikaku continued with a sceptic tone, it still seemed like he wasn't convinced.

This type of stuff only happened in fairy tales and mangas after all.

"Tobirama's Razor implies that there may be a simpler solution to unique abilities, but they seemed truthful," Hiruzen replied after seeing Shikaku's face, "Besides, I doubt Shirou could even lie effectively, especially with how he stumbles on every word every time he even attempts to."

"Best not to say that within earshot of them," Shikaku said. "Sakura-chan, well I'm not sure what to think now. Do I still treat her like a child or the adult that I know she really is?"

"How do you think Yugao-chan is feeling?" Hiruzen said. "She and Hiashi are in the girls' rooms trying to sort out where they stand now that they have revealed the truth to us. Inoichi is busy trying to spin this in a way that is both believable while hiding the truth."

"What are you going to do about this?" Shikaku asked.

"Slap an S-rank designation on this whole thing and never speak of it again," he answered easily. Either way, the village just got their hands on some potentially very powerful assets once the three grew up. He wouldn't be surprised if they became the youngest people to ever receive an S-rank designation by the other villages once they went out to make their mark on the world.

They were sceptical at first, but when Shirou materialized a katana that gave off such a malicious feeling and even Hiashi's Byakugan couldn't tell if it was a chakra construct, after that little display they believed that there was more to them than they knew.

That and BB’s appearance was really convincing. They hid a shudder as they realized just how much power Sakura-chan was suppressing. It reminded them of the Kyuubi all those years ago.

"Sigh, at least with all three of the Kumo nin alive, even if one is dead in every other way, Kumo has no leg to stand on when we bring this to the Daimyo. Breaking a treaty a day after it was signed? Everyone already knew that Kumo was known for breaking its agreements eventually, but this has to be a new record," Hiruzen sighed.

"So, we already have a plan of action then?" Shikaku asked.

"Kick this up to the Daimyo and let him handle this," Hiruzen said. "I expect some form of reparation and maybe a trade embargo but since this was all resolved in a timely manner, everything should calm down soon enough."

*Line Break*

"THEY DID WHAT!" a voice roared in Kumogakure. The inhabitants of the village looked towards the Raikage Tower before going back to their daily lives. This was hardly the first time this had happened when someone screwed up in a way that the Raikage yelled it out for the entire mountain range to hear.

A took several deep breaths as he calmed down. "Repeat that for me will you, Mabui?"

Mabui was a dark-skinned young woman with green eyes. She wore very formal attire consisting of a long-sleeved, high-collared dress shirt and skirt, along with a pair of long earrings and sandals. She wore her light grey hair pulled back into a bun with two bangs that fall on either side of her face. Aside from her unique jutsu, her ability to weather the storm that was her boss's temper made her his ideal assistant.

"Ikeda Gina, Higashi Kazuhiro and Seno Shichiro were caught by Konoha ANBU red-handed attempting to kidnap the Hyuuga clan head's daughter. The Fire Daimyo sent a missive to our Daimyo demanding an explanation, who then sent it to us," Mabui read from the scroll in her hand.

"DAMN THAT FOOL!" A roared, his temper soaring again as he threw his desk out of the window, the mahogany desk landing with a loud crash somewhere among the mountains.

Mabui just put down an order for a new desk and window. This was hardly the first time this happened, and it was routine by this point. This was the fifth desk and window this month, an improvement from the three a week that was the Raikage's first few months on the job.

Hell, there was even a desk and window budget to accommodate A's rampages.

"I knew I should have replaced him when I took over from my old man!" A ranted. "I never liked him anyway! We're not ready for another war! Sure, we're stronger than Konoha right now, but our entire logistics can barely handle delivering everything to the village, let alone a war!"

That was true. When they named the village, they literally meant that they were hidden in the clouds, being on top of a mountain range. It was very defensible, but it made logistics difficult, especially since their logistics division was devastated in the last war. Deploying large numbers of shinobi just wasn't practical right now.

A fairly tall, dark-skinned man with a slightly bulbous nose, black eyes that usually look bored, and shaggy, white hair which covered his left eye. He wore a high-collared, sleeveless uniform with loose-fitting pants, bandages on his wrists and the flak jacket of a Kumogakure shinobi.

He had the words 'water' and 'lightning' tattooed on his right and left shoulders respectively and had a sword strapped to his back.

This was Darui, one of the Sandaime Raikage's students and A's right-hand man. Were it not for the fact that he was more valuable on the field than doing a desk job, A would have made him his new Head Ninja on the spot.

"Boss, something wrong? That's the fifth desk this month and I think they can hear you from the capital," Darui said casually as he entered the office.

A took several deep breaths as he calmed down again. "Ikeda tried to kidnap the daughter of the Hyuuga clan head after signing the peace treaty I sent him there to sign. Now I have the Daimyo asking me why the fuck we thought that was a good idea and threatening to decrease funding."

Darui lost his casual look. "Oh."

A snorted. "Yeah, oh. Now we have to navigate this political shitstorm before people start complaining why fruit from the Land of Fire suddenly became ten times more expensive."

He could see all the complaints from entitled nobles coming in by the dozen.

This was not going to be fun.

*Line Break*

"How interesting," Orochimaru said as he stirred a beaker filled with various chemicals. One of his spies was reporting on what was going on in his old village and had just delivered a most interesting report.

"That is all I have to report, Orochimaru-sama," the spy said as he knelt.

"Hmm," Orochimaru looked at the concoction in his hand before putting it down. "And you are sure there is more to it than ANBU ambushing the Kumo kidnappers?"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," the spy said. "The timeline just doesn't match up and there were no ANBU or Uchiha Military Police squads nearby when it happened. Someone else intercepted the Kumo nins when they were making their escape."

"And I suppose Danzo doesn't want to tell me the truth either?" Orochimaru asked, surprising the spy at him knowing his true allegiance. Before he could react, Orochimaru had thrown the beaker he was stirring earlier toward the ROOT spy, drenching him in the vile mixture.

The spy screamed as his body visibly mutated, his face growing unnatural appendages and turning scaly. He rolled on the ground as he suffered in agony, dying within minutes, all while Orochimaru was silently observing while grabbing a clipboard and a pen.

Orochimaru looked at the cooling corpse in his laboratory before making a note in his research report. "Subject experienced several mutative growths on his face and skin before dying two minutes after exposure to the mixture due to asphyxiation. More experimentation is required in less-concentrated doses."

Orochimaru ordered a subordinate under his command to prepare the body for dissection as he mulled over the information he provided. Most unfortunate that he had to be disposed of, but he had been subverted to serve Danzo and he had no use for pawns not under his control.

"What are you hiding, sensei?" Orochimaru asked himself. He would have to keep an eye on his old village, who knew what new interesting shinobi it would produce that would catch his eye more than an Uchiha.

He was one such shinobi after all.

*End*

**Time skip in the next chapter. Might be delayed since I have a few university projects to work on. Scratch that, it's going to be very delayed, maybe more so than this one since I have a bunch of assignments due in the first week of August.**

**(Small Omake, didn't have too much time and I was babysitting for my neighbour, and this came to my head- Danga.)**

**An alternate outcome.**

"And I suppose Danzo doesn't want to tell me the truth either?" Orochimaru asked, surprising the spy at him knowing his true allegiance. Before he could react, Orochimaru had thrown the beaker he was stirring earlier toward the ROOT spy, drenching him in the chemicals.

The spy screamed, his body turning purple while also becoming scaly in appearance before his hoarse screams suddenly silenced and a gentle laugh and a strange tune emerged from the slumped reptilian creature.

"I love you, you love me. We're a happy fa-"

Boar, Horse, Tiger.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A loud explosion echoed throughout the underground facility causing many of Orochimaru's subordinates to rush to the room in case of an emergency only to find their boss staring at a charred reptilian corpse with a disturbed expression on his face.

"I take it that the experiment wasn't successful?" One of his "braver" assistants asked Orochimaru with an inquiring gaze.

"No, it was successful," Orochimaru said with a distant gaze as if he was staring into the abyss.

"What did it cost?"

"Everything."

From that day on, Orochimaru instated a rigorous testing guideline for all of his labs to use.

So that an incident like that didn't happen again.

*Line Break*

**FGO Omake (Cause I need to vent the salt out)**

"Come on, come on," Tsunade said as she rolled the Gacha. Damn that Rin brat for creating a game that took advantage of her gambling addiction.

Though Shizune was grateful that it didn't sap at their ryo reserves as much as her prior addiction Tsunade still spent a hell of a lot on it.

Tsunade grew excited as three bands of light were displayed. That excitement turned to dread as a Rider card came out. When the card turned gold, her grip on her phone tightened, fortunately not breaking the phone since Shizune had it specially commissioned to withstand her great strength.

A familiar face appeared on the screen.

"Yo, Servant Rider, Jiraiya of the Sannin! A pleasure to meet you, master. Is Tsunade-hime here? *Perverted giggling*"

Tsunade calmly put down her phone on the table, cracks were on the covering. The fact that cracks on the outer covering were the only damage was a testament to how tough that phone was.

"DAMN THAT PERVERT! EVEN IN DEATH, HE'S STILL FOLLOWING ME AROUND!" Tsunade roared as she broke the table. A reinforced table that was more steel than wood at that.

See, she was rolling a special Second Shinobi World War event and Konoha's Sannin were on rate up. There was a Caster Orochimaru, Berserker Tsunade and Rider Jiraiya, all five stars. Problem was, the only one that she seemed to get was Jiraiya! This was the tenth one, in her tenth multi-roll!

She wanted to get herself damn it! She would even settle on getting that traitor of a former teammate!

At least he was a decent ARTS support, even if his NP had only a 1-hit evade and a decrease Death Resistance effect for allies.

Elsewhere, other players felt the despair of a fellow player, commiserating with her over the salt. Such was the nature of the Gacha. Though others would argue that she kept on getting the same five star was anything but salt.

Though ten of them were a bit unfortunate, RIN industries really needed to fix their system. Or maybe Tsunade's E-rank luck was just that bad. Hell, Rin never thought she would meet someone with worse luck than Shirou. At least when it came to gambling that is.

**I imagine Tsunade like Nightingale, except her NP is offensive in nature and she has a skill that increases the party's max HP and charges their NP.**

**Orochimaru has a guts skill that makes him harder to kill than Lancer Cu. Seriously, how many times did this guy escape death in the anime?**

**Rider Jiraiya would probably be a quick based rider that relies on debuffing enemies before nuking them with his NP, like an AOE Robin of sorts.**

**I can see one of his skills being Sage mode. Increases ATK, applies Invincible for three hits, increases NP gain, debuff resist. Basically makes him OP as fuck for a short duration.**


	11. Chapter 10

**This will be the last update until at the very least September. That’s when my semester break starts. Until then, here’s another chapter for you to enjoy. Time skipped two years since the events of the last chapter. Also, we’re approaching the Uchiha massacre. Still not decided on how that’ll end up. Suggestions are welcome.**

**I didn’t get a single Summer Servant from the Ishtar Cup event, at least I got Rider Ishtar at NP LV 5 easily.**

**Disclaimer : I own nothing.**

**Betaed by Danga. (Skadi Memes = Big Damage KEKW)**

Chapter 10

Rin was sleeping soundly in her bed in the Hyuuga compound, her mind filled with dreams of reaching the Root and marrying Shirou. Then, her pleasant dreams were interrupted by the incessant ringing of her alarm clock.

“Groan,” Rin’s hand reached out for her bedstand, trying to turn off her alarm clock. As the clock kept ringing and she couldn’t reach it, a frustrated Rin shot the offending clock with a curse, destroying it.

Peace and quiet once again reigned in Rin’s bedroom as she tried to go back to sleep, only for it to once again be interrupted by her room’s door sliding open.

“Nee-san,” Hinata called out, “It’s time to wake up. We have to go to the Academy soon, remember?”

Rin pulled her blanket to cover her head. “Five more minutes,” Rin said as she tried to go back to sleep. She was not a morning person by nature, unlike Shirou and Sakura who had no problem getting up at sunrise to make breakfast.

“Please nee-san,” Hinata said. “Your breakfast will get cold if you don’t get up.”

Rin groaned as she sat up. “Alright, I’m up. Why did you have to learn how to wake up at this ungodly hour from Shirou?”

Rin went to get ready for the day. She was now eight and had been going to the Academy for two years now. It was an interesting experience since magecraft was taught by family members in her past life, the Clock Tower being more like a university, teaching students who have at least a grounding in the basics. The experience of actually going to a school in order to learn how to use chakra was new.

It had been two years since what was now called the Hyuuga Affair. From what her father told her, the negotiations boiled down to heavily veiled insults thrown back and forth by the negotiators sent by their Daimyos while Sandaime-sama and the Raikage talked in the background. In the end, both sides agreed to not let the actions of three hot-headed idiots start a war and to return to the status quo. Basically, nothing changed from before it happened except perhaps the three Kumo nin being declared traitors and executed by the Raikage’s orders after they were repatriated to Kumo.

Rin wasn’t overly concerned about Kumo finding out that she had a part in neutering their ex-Head Ninja. Inoichi-sama was kind enough to cover any mistakes she made in modifying their memories. No doubt Kumo’s interrogators heard exactly what Konoha wanted them to hear, that ANBU teams ambushed them before they even left the village’s walls.

Rin dragged herself to the kitchen after bathing and changing, wearing her usual red shirt and black skirt, though the dress reached her knees instead of the mini-skirt she wore in her teenage years.

Her family was already there, her father reading a newspaper while drinking some coffee, her mother feeding a two-year-old Hanabi, her new baby sister some baby food, which was getting all over herself instead of into her mouth.

Rin smiled at seeing her youngest sister and mother. When Hanabi-chan was born, her mother experienced complications after the birth. The medics did their best, but in a world where chakra had been around for millennia, chakra resistant aliments existed. They were rare, but quite incurable using medical ninjutsu.

Rin had despaired, trying everything she knew about healing and medical ninjutsu, but to no avail. She had almost given up until she remembered a certain dagger that Shirou got from her mentor. A dagger that healed instead of harmed, apparently once belonging to Asclepius, Greek god of healing from before his ascension to godhood. How Zelretch got it could be summed up to him being Zelretch.

Rin and Hiashi sighed in relief when the dagger worked, miraculously healing her mother. The medics were astounded at Hikari’s recovery, having been ushered out of the room when Rin came in with the dagger after rushing over to Shirou’s place in order to get it. The cover story that they came up with was an old Hyuuga clan artefact that just recently resurfaced while Rin was digging through the clan’s inventory.

After that, the dagger was officially on loan to the hospital from the Hyuuga clan, after consulting with Shirou and the Hokage. Of course, it only took a week before the dagger was stolen and Shirou had to dismiss it, denying the thief the incredibly powerful healing artefact. The Hokage was pissed when that happened and asked Shirou to only Trace the dagger when needed, and to immediately dismiss it after it had done its job.

“Good morning,” Rin greeted as she took her seat.

“Good morning, dear,” Hikari greeted as Hanabi took that opportunity to throw her mashed peas all over her. Hinata handed her mother a napkin and tried to clean her little sister.

“Ree-Ree!” Hanabi greeted, waving her spoon.

Rin cooed at the cute sight, while her mother merely sighed as she wiped the food out of her hair.

“Good morning, Rin,” Hiashi greeted, going back to his paper. “Remember, we have practice after school is over. Don’t be late.”

“Yes, father,” Rin said. After the kidnapping attempt two years ago, Rin stopped skipping out on taijutsu practice but would only train with her father. Though she had negotiated a reasonable schedule with her father so that she had time to spend with her friends and her research. It wasn’t as much time allocated for taijutsu practice as her grandfather would like, but her father was fine with it.

Things had been awkward for a while after the big reveal. When they brought her mother in on the secret, she had taken it in stride and continued to treat her as she usually did, though more as if she was a teenager than a six-year-old girl. Things went back to normal after that, and she was treated more like a miniature adult than the child she physically was.

“Breakfast is ready,” the cook said as she walked into the dining room with a tray full of food. A simple breakfast that wouldn’t look out of place in Japan, egg rolls, pickled vegetables, fish, soup and rice.

“Itadakimasu!” they said as they dug in.

“Are we still going to Shirou-nii’s place after taijutsu practice, nee-san?” Hinata asked.

“Yes,” Rin answered as she wiped her mouth. “Unless something comes up, we’ll be there until it’s time for dinner.”

“Actually,” Hiashi said. “I would like it if you two would stay there for dinner. And perhaps until ten if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Oh,” Rin said. “Did something come up?”

Hiashi frowned. “A surprise clan meeting. Nothing too big, just your grandfather trying to interfere with clan matters again.”

Rin groaned. Her grandfather had been adamant that she become a genin already and show up the Uchiha clan’s prodigy. To him, she was wasted in the Academy when she had already shown the ability to take down an experienced jounin before she was six. Not even Itachi could claim that.

“Don’t worry,” her mother said. “We’ll deal with your grandfather. Just make sure to be home after the Academy, alright?”

“Yes, kaa-san,” Rin said. Hinata just looked confused at the conversation. She knew that her grandfather had a strained relationship with the family, but she didn’t understand what that was all about. A good thing as far as Rin was concerned. No need for her little sister to get entangled in the complex mess that was clan politics. She would have to learn about it, being a daughter of the clan head, but that could wait until she was a bit older. She was only the second daughter after all, unlike her who was the heiress.

“Now go,” Hiashi said. “Your uncle must be waiting for you two along with Neji-kun. Wouldn’t want to be late now would we?”

“Bye tou-san. Bye kaa-san. Bye, Hanabi-chan,” Rin and Hinata said as they made their way out, grabbing their bags from the living room. Their uncle was waiting for them outside along with Neji. Off to another day at the Academy.

*Line Break*

“They’re here!” Naruto shouted as he saw Rin and Hinata arrive with Neji and her uncle. They were waiting for them at the Academy’s gates, along with Sakura. Shikamaru had already gone ahead with Ino and Choji to class, no doubt to doze off before the bell rings.

Shirou’s appearance had changed within the last few years, his hair darkening into its original auburn colour, much to his relief. No more pink-haired jokes from others. He also found a long-sleeved blue and white T-shirt that was similar to what he wore before and blue jeans. Sakura on the other hand wore a white blouse and purple skirt combination that looked like the one she preferred after graduation in her past life.

“We see them, Naruto-kun,” Sakura gently said. “No need to shout it out.”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “Eh…haha, sorry Sakura-nee.”

“Good morning,” Rin greeted. “Did we keep you waiting long?”

“Not really,” Shirou answered. “Five minutes at most. Neji, Hinata-chan, Hizashi-san.”

Neji nodded at them. “Morning,” he greeted then went on to his classroom.

“Still not one for pleasantries I see,” Hizashi said as his son left. “I’ll be leaving now, have a good day at the Academy.”

“Bye, Hizashi-san/oji.”

Hinata stayed for a while longer to talk with Naruto.

“Good morning, Naruto-kun,” Hinata greeted shyly.

“Morning, Hinata-chan!” Naruto said enthusiastically before frowning. “Hey, the bastards here!”

Turning to see what Naruto was talking about, they saw Sasuke and his older brother Itachi approach.

“Dobe,” Sasuke said as he saw Naruto.

“Bastard!” Naruto retaliated.

The older siblings there looked on exasperated. The two of them had a rivalry that seemed to encompass everything, from grades, physical ability, accuracy, even who had the better older brother.

Of course, Hinata won that last category easily since she routinely beat both of them in taijutsu training. But as far as the two were concerned, that didn’t count since Rin was a girl.

“Owie!” the two boys held their foreheads.

Rin blew the smoke away from her finger gun. “Knock it off boys.”

“Interesting jutsu,” Itachi said.

Rin turned to the Uchiha. "Yes, and I bet you would just love to know how I did it, wouldn't you Itachi-kun," Rin said with a wide and playful smile. "Sorry, but that is my little secret. Of course, if you want to tell me all about your Sharingan, then I could tell you."

The two of them looked into each other's eyes, Rin's playful, Itachi's annoyed. The Sharingan started to appear in his eyes, the three tomoe circling slowly. Rin only giggled.

"Do you honestly think that a genjutsu would work, Itachi-kun?" she said, taunting the boy as she easily waved off his attempts to enter her mind. Of course, Itachi hadn't expected it to work. It had only been to get her to drop her guard.

Two fingers came up, bumping her against the forehead, surprising her and knocking her backwards to fall on her butt. "Not today, Rin-chan," he said with a slight smirk before appearing to disappear into a flock of crows.

"Why you!?" Rin said, turning on her Byakugan and searching the boy out. She formed a few hand signs and the surrounding kids jumped as a bolt of lightning was launched from her outstretched hand into the sky, and then smashing into a faraway rooftop from above like a rod from god. It was too far away for any of them to see with normal eyes but based on Rin's body language and still hot temper, she had missed the shot. "I'll get you back for that, Itachi-kun. I'll get you."

“Come on,” Shirou said. “Class starts soon. Wouldn’t want to damage your reputation as an idol now would we?”

Even in another life, Rin was still the model student.

“Fine!” Rin said as Sakura ushered the kids inside. “But I’m still getting him back for that!”

Later that day, Shisui would ask Itachi why his hair was standing up like he was hit by a Lightning Release Jutsu.

*Line Break*

“So bored,” Rin sighed as she sat down for lunch.

The three of them were in the same class, as well as Neji and Tenten. It was their second year and the material barely interested them. The Academy was concentrating on basic things such as mathematics and languages along with some taijutsu. Things the three of them already excelled in.

In fact, they excelled at everything the Academy’s curriculum taught. Their teachers had recommended them to graduate already, but the three of them were content to go through the whole six years.

They were only a year above their respective younger siblings, so they would stick around until they were in their last year.

“Well,” Shirou said as Sakura handed them bentos she had made for them, “we could always skip a few years if we really wanted to. And wasn’t this your plan to go through all six years?”

“Hmm, I’d rather not,” Sakura said as she took out a pair of chopsticks. “Shikamaru-kun needs someone around to keep him motivated other than Yoshino-oba. And I would hate to leave him and his friends so soon.”

“I know,” Rin said as she opened the bento. “I don’t want to leave Hinata-chan all alone for so long too. At least not until her final year when we will already be genin.”

“And I don’t trust Naruto to open a book without being bribed or threatened,” Shirou sighed. Naruto and books just did not mesh well. It was a hassle just to make sure he was literate, and his handwriting wasn’t chicken scratch. At least his physical education was going well. They were certain that Naruto was a Kinaesthetic learner, learning better by doing than reading. If he was a magus, that would have a bad thing, with how much research magecraft required. But for a shinobi? He would be just fine as long as his teachers adjusted to accommodate him. He still had to learn the material anyway if he wanted to graduate.

“Besides,” Rin said. “Time we are spending in the field as genin is time taken away from my research!”

“But time we’re using to make money,” Sakura said.

Rin snorted as she used her chopsticks to pick up an egg roll, “With the revenue from our book sales, it’ll be a long time before we ever deplete it. How’s the latest book in your horror series?”

Sakura, for someone so gentle, liked horror stories. After the wild success of her love guidebook, she decided to try her hand at fiction writing. It was a great success, not on the scale of the Kama Sutra, her publisher doubted that any book could ever top it, but it was still an instant best seller, lauded as one of the greatest horror stories ever written.

“You know,” Shirou said, “if being a kunoichi doesn’t work out for you, you could always just stick to writing stories, Sakura.”

“Don’t give Shikamaru-kun ideas now, Shirou,” Sakura chided. “If he had his way, I’d be at home baking him treats every day. Something about it would be troublesome if I got hurt in the field. He was so sweet about it I couldn’t even get mad at him for wanting me to be safe at home.”

“If one of my clansmen had suggested it, I’d have given them a piece of my mind,” Rin said. Left unsaid that it would probably end with several Hyuugas in the hospital for a terminal case of stupidity.

Shirou made to retort but stopped as someone yelled at him.

“Shirou! Today will be the day that I defeat you!” a boy dressed in a white Chinese style top and loose black pants declared and leaped across a table to reach Shirou.

Shirou swiftly extended his right hand and grabbed the incoming fist before using his leg to trip him, sending his attacker to the ground in three seconds flat. All this without ever leaving his seat.

“Hello, Lee/ Lee-kun,” Shirou, Rin and Sakura said, unfortunately well used to Lee’s antics.

“Good morning, Shirou, Rin-chan, Sakura-chan,” the now named assailant said from the ground.

“Nice try, Lee,” Shirou sighed. “But you overextended yourself when you attacked me and gave yourself away when you shouted.”

Rock Lee got up as if nothing had happened. “Curses! For failing to beat Shirou, I will do a hundred push ups! And if I can’t do that, I will run a hundred laps around the village after school!” Lee then went down and started doing push ups. 

“Hmm, do you want some Shu Mai?” Sakura asked as she showed Lee the contents of her bento box.

“Ah,” Lee said, pausing in his self-imposed punishment, “thank you, Sakura-chan. Truly, you are the most beautiful flower of spring! But I will only accept after completing my push ups!”

Sakura shrugged. “Good luck then, Lee.”

“Did you have to introduce him to Gai-san?” Rin asked as they looked down at Lee doing push ups. “Look at what he has turned Lee into.”

“Nah,” Shirou said. “He was already a training maniac. And with his handicap, taijutsu is one of the few ways he’s ever going to make it as a shinobi. Though I thought Gai would just give him some training advice, not take him on as an apprentice.”

Rock Lee was born with malformed chakra coils. While he could enhance his body with chakra and mould chakra for the tree walking and water walking exercises, that was about it. He was unable to form chakra outside of his body. Ninjutsu and genjutsu were completely out of his grasp. So, he had to focus on the other shinobi arts like weapons and taijutsu.

He also tended to challenge his strongest classmates every chance he got, including Shirou and Neji. Eventually, after who knows how many times Shirou had sent Lee to the floor, Shirou recommended that he seek help from Gai, having met the man once and knowing that he was a taijutsu specialist who was enthusiastic about training and would no doubt be willing to advise an Academy student, unlike some other shinobi. Next thing he knew, the next day Lee was on his knees thanking him for introducing Gai-sensei to him.

Thankfully, Rin burnt the green spandex before he could put it on, making him promise not to wear the abomination in the Academy, cowing him into submission with her glare. 

“At least Gai-san made sure to consult a medic before creating his training schedule,” Sakura said as she saved a few Shu Mai for Lee. “Even if he did pass on his… eccentricities onto him.”

 **‘If I have to hear him exclaim one more time about youth, I’ll tear Gai to shreds!’** BB said within Sakura’s mind.

‘It’s not that bad,’ Sakura thought back unconvincingly. ‘There are worse things he could be obsessed with. Or have you forgotten the various personalities we met in Chaldea?’

 **‘Don’t remind me,’** BB groaned. **‘At least hours of listening to Nero and Elizabeth sing terribly have prepared us for people with no indoor voices. If he comes to class in that green abomination though, all bets are off!’**

“Why do you put up with him anyway?” Neji asked as he approached them with Tenten. Tenten glared at Rin and Sakura, then went to sit next to Shirou.

Rin and Sakura glared back. Tenten was the only girl in their year who was brave enough to get close to Shirou. They had ‘dealt’ with the fangirls within a few weeks of their classmates suddenly discovering that boys weren’t icky.

The three of them had been unchallenged for the top three spots in their year, their adult minds giving them an unfair advantage. That also made them a magnet for fans and sycophants. Shirou, with his good looks, high scores and inheritance that once he could access it would make him quite well off, made him a magnet for fangirls.

Even ‘oblivious to love’ Shirou knew that the fangirls were bad for his health. This wasn’t a problem that he had a convenient sword for after all, he didn’t exactly want to hurt them. Only in Kirigakure was it acceptable to maim and kill your classmates. Konoha was a civilized village, not like those Kiri barbarians who no one had heard a thing from since the last war.

Fortunately, he had Rin and Sakura. He didn’t know what they did, and he didn’t want to know, but only Tenten persisted in her attraction to him. She still remembered about that promise to forge her a sword from when they were four. She also had Rin and Sakura’s grudging respect, since she wasn’t a worthless fangirl and wanted Shirou for his blacksmith skills. They weren’t letting her have him though.

The girls were fortunate that except for Shirou and Lee, the boys in their year were still in their ‘girls are gross’ phase. Give it a few years and Shirou would probably be the subject of his peer’s annoyance at hogging the two prettiest girls around. Lee was harmless and they knew he would never do anything to hurt their friendship, despite his open display of his crush towards Sakura, much to Shikamaru’s annoyance.

As far as their year was concerned, Shirou, Rin and Sakura were the A-team while Neji, Tenten and Rock Lee were the B-team. Rin could already see their teachers’ subtle manipulations to see what team placements would work best.

“Because Lee’s harmless and with the right training and effort, I’m sure he could become the best taijutsu practitioner in the world,” Rin answered her cousin’s question.

“The dead last?” Neji said, disbelieving. “I don’t see it.”

“Give it time,“ Shirou said. “He has the will, and now he has found a teacher who is willing to guide him. By the time we graduate, he’ll be one of the best genin at taijutsu.”

“If you say so,” Neji said, unconvinced. He liked Lee well enough, though he did find him to be a bit much at times.

“Shirou, can you train with me later? My sword forms need work and kaa-san said that training with someone my age would help,” Tenten asked with her most pleading expression.

“Sure,” Shirou agreed rather quickly. “Is four o’clock good?”

“It’s a date!” Tenten exclaimed.

Shirou wondered why both Rin and Sakura were glaring at him. “What?”

‘Stupid dense idiot/senpai!,’ they both thought then answered at the same time, “Nothing!”

Shirou looked at them confused, wondering what he did to anger them. He looked at Neji, but he seemed as confused as he was. Even with three decades of experience, Shirou still didn’t understand girls.

*Line Break*

"I hate tests," Naruto grumbled angrily as he packed his things now that school was over. "Why can't we just go into the forest and have another practical. Those are fun at least."

Their teacher had announced that they would be taking a math test next week, much to his students’ dismay. Like all students everywhere, they hated tests.

"You got that right. Who decided that we needed to learn all this math stuff anyways? We're going to be shinobi, not... what do you do with math anyways?" Kiba added his own anger to Naruto's.

"It's mostly used in fuinjutsu and encryption," Shikamaru said with a yawn. "Not to mention traps, logistics and normal stuff you use math for. Dull stuff. But it still beats history if you ask me. Reading all those history books is just such a hassle."

"I hate classic literature. It’s always so... creepy," Choji said with a shiver before shoving some chips in his mouth. "All that stuff about grown men going after little girls makes me uncomfortable."

"At least you two have good enough grades that you don't have to worry. The dumb blond and me have to pass this stupid thing or they'll hold us back a year," Kiba said pointing a thumb at Naruto. "If that happens my onee-san will turn me into dog meat."

"Hey! Don't lump me in with you Canine Breath!" Naruto shouted angrily at Kiba.

"What was that Whiskers!?" Kiba shouted back. The two started to get up into each other's faces, preparing to go at it like a fox and a hound.

"Please... don't fight," Hinata said weakly trying to get between the two boys.

Seeing the concerned look on the girl's face, both boys stopped. Naruto glanced away, a bit ashamed of himself for upsetting her, while Kiba flushed and looked down at his feet where his puppy, Akamaru was looking up at him.

“Aww, she already has you two wrapped around her finger. I’ve taught her well,” Rin said from their classroom door.

“Onee-san!” Hinata went red from what her sister was implying.

Rin walked into the classroom, behind her Shirou, Sakura, Neji, Tenten and Rock Lee followed.

Rin giggled to herself at the sight. Kiba had long since had a crush on little Hinata and was jealous of Naruto for being so close to her. It was funny to watch how things went when the three of them were all in a room together. Especially when Neji was around. The older boy gave the two death glares that quickly caused enough of the blood to drain from Kiba's face to make his flush go away.

If Shirou wasn't good enough for Rin, there was no way in hell that Naruto or Kiba were good enough for Hinata. Anyone who wanted to date her would have to get through him.

A second after their defused fight, Naruto smirked and crossed his arms, puffing out his chest. "Well, unlike you, I don't have to worry about anything," Naruto said. "I'm going to get Shirou-nii to help me study. There's no way I could fail."

"Oh? So, you're going to finally take your studying seriously? It's too bad that he’s going to be too busy tonight with Sakura and I to help you," Rin said with a teasing smile.

"Wha!? You're kidding me! Please, Shirou-nii, don't abandon me in my time of need!" Naruto shouted as he bowed to Shirou, his goggles slapping against the ground as he pressed his head against the floor.

"You don't need to bow to me Naruto, she's just messing with you," Shirou said chuckling a little. "I'll help you."

“Hmm, so long as you really mean it, I’m sure we could allocate time to help you out,” Sakura said.

Naruto looked up to Rin with big eyes. "Hm... yes, I suppose we must. Can't have Hinata-chan separated from her little plaything because of a few bad grades."

"Onee-san!" Hinata half squealed, flushing bright red.

"Hey! How come Naruto gets special treatment!" Kiba complained. "I need help too!"

"R...Rin-chan..." Rock Lee said, getting up to his feet and blowing low at the waist. "Please consider helping me as well!"

Rin looked over the two and sighed. "You know I used to have a one charity case at a time policy. Now look. Not only do I still have to keep track of Shirou, but now I'm stuck with Naruto-kun and now these two as well," she said, shaking her head. "Oh well, what can you do. I suppose I can help you all if I must."

“That was rude, Rin,” Sakura chastised, but was unable to hide her smile. 

"You still count me as a charity case?" Shirou said, raising an eyebrow.

"You will always be my charity case. I still remember how hopeless you were when we first met. You really haven't come very far since then, now that I think about it. You're still an idiot," Rin teased Shirou.

"But you've come such a long way. Sometimes I'm half convinced that you actually have a heart," Shirou said, rolling his eyes. "All those years of scolding your childish behavior must have paid off. With a bit more hard work, I might even make you an honest hard working member of society."

“Hmm,” Sakura said impishly. “I can’t see it.”

 _"Sakura, how could you! And Shirou, that sounds about as unlikely as us teaching you the meaning of self-preservation. Then again, is there even a point when you don't even understand how to die properly. You know that people are supposed to die when they are killed, but when it comes time to actually implement that rule, you always seem to mess up. Immortality through stupidity. Some people would be jealous,"_ Rin switched to English so that the others wouldn't be able to understand.

 _"You do realize that you died too, right?"_ Shirou said, also making the switch.

 _“And I got dragged along for the ride,”_ Sakura said.

 _"Then you seem to have been a horrible influence on us,"_ Rin concluded.

"They're doing it again," Tenten mumbled to Neji. The white eyed boy didn't respond, he just focused on what the teachers taught today. The three of them kept going back and forth with none of the others having a clue what was being said. Rin maintained a pleasant smile the whole time, while Shirou kept his own sarcastic expression in check. Sakura just smiled like usual and bantered with the two as if they had done this for years. Finally, Rin must have said something that managed to get underneath Shirou's skin, because the boy twitched and shrank down, his head sinking so low it nearly tunneled into his shoulders. Sakura gave Rin an admonishing look and went to comfort Shirou.

"What did you say to him?" Hinata asked.

"I told him that if he wanted more free time, we could pass ownership of the kitchen over to Sakura," Rin admitted, seeming proud of her victory. "Anyways? If so many people want to study, then I suppose we could all do it together. Make a bit of a party out of it."

"That sounds like a good idea," Choji said, a dazed look coming over his face.

"You're only saying that because you want some more food," Shikamaru said, taking note of a small line of drool coming out of the corner of his friend's mouth.

Choji scowled at the lazy boy. "What about you? Are you going to go? No doubt, Sakura-nee will be baking cookies for us again!"

"Hm... good question," Shikamaru said, looking over at Rin, then Sakura and then looking away again. He was conflicted. On one hand, his nee-san’s cookies, on the other, several troublesome hours trying to help Naruto and Kiba study. Not to mention being in the presence of several troublesome women. "Sorry, but I don’t feel like it."

“Aww,” Sakura said as she patted Shikamaru’s head. “Won’t you do it for your nee-san? I’ll even bake an extra batch of brownies just for you.”

Shikamaru wavered a bit at his sister’s bribe but stood fast. “Troublesome, but my answer is still no.”

Shikamaru believed that Shirou was the ultimate proof that women ruined the lives of the men who they ensnared. Rin and Anko were both the pinnacle of his idea of troublesome women. Shirou was always forced to be working and never seemed to just relax. What kind of monsters have a boy his age working? Worst of all, Shirou seemed to have gotten to the point where it was like Stockholm Syndrome, where he actually believed that he enjoyed it.

Shikamaru might have been alright with Hinata or his sister, but that was because they didn't try to make anyone do any work. Hinata was more of one of the guys as far as he was concerned while Sakura-nee was Sakura-nee, forever holding the most unique position of the only untroublesome woman in the world.

Tenten was bad, but only as bad as any other girl. She had a long way to go before she could reach Rin or Anko's levels of ruining a man's life.

"So, you aren't going to come, Shi-kun?" Rin said, smiling evilly. "Not even if I were to talk to your mother? She's been hoping to get you more involved in your schoolwork."

Shikamaru tensed up at the mention of the Nara Matriarch. Neither Shikamaru or his father ever dared to defy her, and always tread carefully to avoid her wrath. And unlike Sakura-nee, Rin had no problem tattling him out to his mother. "Troublesome woman," he grumbled in annoyance as Chouji snickered.

"Troublesome indeed," Shirou said, nodding in agreement. Rin looked like she was taking pride in being called such. "Sorry Shikamaru-kun, but you might as well try to have some fun with it." He looked over to Neji and Tenten. "Do either of you want to join in?"

Neji was quiet as he weighed his options. On one hand, he didn't see the appeal in helping out the younger kids, some of whom he personally wanted to chase away from little Hinata and Hanabi, as they were bad influences. On the other hand, it was a good enough excuse as any to spend some time with his cousins.

“Sorry,” Tenten said. “But I have to help my parents at the shop tonight. We just received a new shipment and I have to help them sort it out. Don’t worry, I’ll still have enough time to study.”

"That's very true. You worked hard to earn that number three girl status of yours." Rin said with a smirk. Tenten scowled and puffed out her cheeks.

"Ouch," Rock Lee said, scooting away from the girls, anticipating some kind of cat fight. Common knowledge was enough to tell him that it was the best to stay away from such things.

Luckily, nothing came of it, as Shirou, lacking most of the most basic male survival instincts, hadn't noticed the impending girl problem, asked a different question, creating a distraction. "Hey, has anyone seen Sasuke? Doesn’t he usually stick around to annoy Naruto after class?"

"He was going to, but he ended up getting dragged away by a bunch of his fangirls," Naruto said, pointing out off the roof and to a small area at the edge of the school year where a wall of girl bodies and noise could be heard.

"Poor bastard," Shikamaru said, hanging his head and looking as if he was praying for the Uchiha boy.

Neji looked at where the Uchiha boy was in pity. Clan rivalry or not, no man should suffer alone in the face of fangirls. This was one of the few things he was grateful towards Shirou about, him attracting the bulk of their year’s fangirls, even if they had yet to move on to easier prey upon finding their quarry already marked and taken by two alpha females.

“That poor kid,” Anko said from her place on top of the teacher’s desk. “Looks like he has just as many as his brother did. And unlike Itachi, he doesn’t have the evasion skills to get away from them.”

“GAH!!!” several of them exclaimed. “Anko! When did you get here!”

“Five minutes ago,” Shirou answered for her. “She was under some kind of chameleon jutsu. And aren’t you supposed to be at work Anko-nee?”

“Did you have to rat me out Shirou?” Anko pouted. “And yes, yes I should.”

“Are you that bored that you’ll listen to children talking to satisfy your boredom?” Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You make me sound like a pedophile,” Anko said. “And it’s never boring with you lot. So Princess, what'd Ita-chan do this morning to get under your skin? That lightning you threw at him was pretty impressive. Heard from some of the guys that it came so close to him that his hair was standing on end when he got to work this morning,"

"His butt would have been roasted if he hadn't dodged it," Rin grumbled, crossing her arms.

"The two of you are already squabbling. Can't wait to see how sparks fly when you both actually become clan heads. It will take more than Shirou-chan and Sakura-chan to be peacekeepers at that point," Anko snickered. "Hey, if you are all having a tutoring party, why don't you try inviting him?"

"No way in hell." Rin said, sticking up her nose. "Even if that emo brat doesn't have anything better to do, I still wouldn't want him around."

Shirou had to stop himself from face palming at Rin's description of Itachi. She refused to see herself as being younger than him or recognize him as being mature for his age. To her, he was a brat.

Sakura sighed. Yes, her nee-san was the epitome of maturity. What a good example she was setting for the young and impressionable minds that looked up to them. At least Luvia knew when to let things go.

Shirou felt a tug on his arm and looked over to see Naruto with a confused expression on his face. "Shirou, what's an emo?" Naruto asked, some of the other kids also looking curious.

"An emo is someone who is more emotional about things than others," Shirou said, trying to do his best to explain to the children.

"Why would they do that?" Naruto asked.

"Thats... hard to explain. Do you remember when Anko-nee took us to that scary movie?" Shirou said, seeing Naruto shiver a bit before nodding. Only Sakura seemed to have liked it, while Shirou and Rin were bored by it. When you’ve fought against actual ghosts and demons, horror movies lost a lot of their appeal.

"Well,” Shirou continued, “some people just like that kind of thing. It causes a sort of rush of emotions and people get addicted to the feeling and start to try to put themselves in that mind set in order to feel it."

"So... Itachi-san acts all unhappy because that makes him happy?" Naruto said, trying to piece things together.

"Um... yeah, not quite but close enough I guess," Shirou said. He honestly didn't understand emos beyond the biological reasoning. There was probably some kind of element of consciousness in there somewhere, but the human perspective of the world was something that existed outside of Shirou's understanding. If only it involved more swords.

“Don’t worry about it too much, Naruto-kun,” Sakura said. “Itachi is a gentle soul. If he wasn’t his clan’s heir, I’m sure that he would have chosen a more sedate career path.” It took a gentle soul to recognise another one after all.

“Ehh?! Not be a shinobi! Why would he want that!” Kiba yelled. The other kids there seem to agree. Why wouldn’t Itachi want to be a shinobi.

“Quiet down kids,” Anko said. “Not everyone is suited for this job, even if they’re good at it. Now shoo! I’m sure you all have places to be.”

“I’ll see you when you come home, Anko-nee,” Shirou said as he and the others walked out the door.

“Yeah,” Anko replied. She frowned as they left. So, they hadn’t noticed it yet, probably for the best. There was tension within the village, as more and more people viewed the Uchiha clan with distrust. She’d wager that things haven’t been this tense with the Uchiha clan since the time of the Nidaime.

Anko sighed. “Please don’t get caught up in all of this,” she hoped as she went back to her office. Who was she kidding, trouble seemed to seek the three like a magnet. Whatever happened, she was almost sure that the three would get caught up in it.”

She just hoped they’d be intact at the other side.

*Line Break*

“This is unacceptable!”

Hiashi sighed. “And pray tell me father, what do you find unacceptable?”

Hiashi was in a meeting with his clan elders that night, the reason he asked his daughter to stay at her friend’s place until ten. He didn’t want her to get involved in this with her volatile temper. Though he was tempted to release control over his own temper at this moment.

The Elder glared at his son. “You know what! Your daughter and the heir of this clan is being wasted at the Academy and we all know it! She could already defeat a jounin at the age of six, for what purpose does she attend the Academy to learn that which she probably knows more than the chunin instructors.”

‘Gee, maybe she wants to have a childhood and spend time with her friends and sister,’ Hiashi thought sarcastically. He didn’t voice it out though, that would have been beneath him and would not help.

Around him, the other clan elders nodded in agreement. Rin was jounin material, maybe even Kage material in a few years. They practically salivated at the prospect of a Hyuuga as Hokage. The prestige and honour it would bring to the clan.

“As I have said before,” Hiashi said, “my daughter wishes to have a childhood with her friends while she still can. I do not see the rush. Is our clan so desperate that it needs children to show off its strength?”

“Bah!” the Elder said. “Fine! If she wants that to be a condition, I’m sure we could pull a few strings to get the Toko boy and Nara to graduate early as well. Not like they’re any different. Wasted potential as far as I’m concerned.”

‘That’s not the point,’ Hiashi thought irritably. “If any of you have done your research, this village has a rather bad track record with child geniuses getting promoted early.”

“What of it? That just goes to show that they weren’t all that they were made out to be. Your daughter and her friends are made of sterner stuff. They can handle it.”

‘Because they aren’t really children,’ Hiashi didn’t say. He actually agreed with them about that. Rin, Shirou and Sakura would be just fine even if they graduated early, their adult minds would see to it. But after all the tragedy the three had gone through in their last life, Hiashi wouldn’t begrudge them their happiness.

“Yes, because Hatake Kakashi is the paragon of stability,” Hiashi said. “Not to mention the extensive list of issues Inoichi diagnosed him with. And let’s not mention how many child geniuses end up dead when other villages target them, determined to kill them off before they reach their full potential.”

“The Uchiha prodigy seems fine,” another elder said. “Rumour is that he’s due to be promoted to ANBU captain.” That prompted a round of discussion among them, complaining about how the Uchiha was showing them up.

Hiashi did not feel the need to mention how Itachi seemed to age in decades rather than years. He had only met the Uchiha prodigy a few times, but he could see the stress lines. If he wasn’t handled carefully, he would break. And despite being twelve, Hiashi was sure that Itachi could soundly defeat 90% of this village’s shinobi, himself included.

“Enough,” Hiashi said, shutting up the elders. “This matter is settled. My daughter will graduate at age twelve and no sooner. This is final. She has already consented to giving learning our clan techniques her full attention, no longer pushing it aside in exchange for this. Either way, she’d graduate as a genin capable of defeating the majority of the shinobi in this village.”

“But if we threatened to seal her sister again, maybe…” someone tried to argue but he was forced back down by a wave of Killer Intent from Hiashi.

“Let me make this one thing clear,” Hiashi said, tone unchanging despite the amount of Killer Intent he was radiating. “I am the clan head, you all are the clan elders. I lead the clan, while you advise me on how to do so. That is all. I have no obligation to follow your advice. AND IF ANY OF YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT USING MY YOUNGER DAUGHTERS FOR YOUR PURPOSES, I WILL PERSONALLY EXILE YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY AFTER SEALING YOU MYSELF! AM I CLEAR!”

Hiashi glared at the cowed elders, all except his own father had bent down against his Killer Intent. The Elder was conflicted. He was frustrated at how his own son seemed set to change generations of tradition that kept the clan strong and butted heads with his elders at almost every issue. But he was also proud of the man he had become, strong and unyielding on what he considered important, and would not let anyone cow him into submission.

“Very well,” the Elder sighed, perhaps it was because the world was changing while he was still living in the past. “We will not raise this issue again. You are right, you are the clan head now. Whatever you decide, we will follow your lead.”

If Hiashi was surprised at this he did not show it. “See to it that you do.” Hiashi left the room, intent on finding his wife and maybe spending some time with Hanabi to calm himself.

The Elder looked at his son’s leaving form. ‘Yes,’ he mused, ‘perhaps it’s time that I let you handle things the way you wish to. No need for this meddling old man to get in the way of progress.’

*Line Break*

“This is unacceptable!”

Uchiha Fugaku sighed. “And what do you think we can do about it?”

The Uchiha clan was meeting to determine how to deal with the increasing distrust and negative perception of the village towards the Uchiha clan.

It all started after the Kyuubi Attack, when his clan was suspected for being behind it. Not to mention the low number of casualties they suffered due to being assigned to protect the civilians. Never mind that it was on the orders of the Sandaime after he was urged to do so by Danzo.

Soon after, rumours about the Sharingan being able to control the Kyuubi spread, making the villagers increasingly suspect them. Danzo’s suspicion of his clan did not help matters.

Then, Uchiha families who lived within the main village were increasingly being convinced to return to the clan compound. People started to be wary of Uchiha Military Police officers, never mind the fact that they were charged with the protection of the civilians against shinobi criminals.

It was not long after that the clan noticed that they were being put under surveillance. How could they not notice when they were a clan whose claim to fame was their visual prowess. They had never managed to catch one of their watchers, but they knew they were there.

Soon, public opinion seemed to turn entirely against the clan. It hadn’t amounted to anything, yet. But Fugaku had no doubt that if something wasn’t done, the Uchiha clan would suffer for it.

So far, they had managed to keep it from their children, who continued their lives oblivious to how increasingly negative the Uchiha clan was being viewed. Not even his youngest son knew. His eldest and heir however…

Fugaku looked at his heir, Itachi. The pride of the clan and no doubt one of the strongest the clan had ever produced since Uchiha Madara himself. He was already stronger than his own father and was credited as an S-rank shinobi by other villages. His recent promotion to ANBU captain was still something he took pride in.

Itachi’s face was unchanging at the gathered Uchiha’s arguing over what should be done. Next to him, his best friend Shisui looked over the proceedings passively, not saying anything. Both disagreed with the path that seemed increasingly likely for the clan to take.

A coup. Even if they succeeded in taking out the leadership of the village, an unlikely event even with the two of them, then what? They were isolated, with no allies among the other clans, who while sympathetic to their increasingly negative perception by the civilians, wouldn’t exactly be eager for what would basically amount to starting a civil war.

And while the Uchiha clan was strong, it’s shinobis numbering in the hundreds, that was hardly enough to fight an entire village. Even if an Uchiha was worth two regular shinobi, there were a lot more of them than there were Uchihas. Not to mention the other shinobi clans who would no doubt oppose them as well.

Itachi and Shisui looked at each other subtly, telling each other exactly what they thought about this without the need to use words. They had to stop this madness, before all of Konoha burned for this folly.

*End*

**And that’s a wrap. The Uchiha massacre could go either way. For those of you on fanfiction.net and spacebattles forum, I’ll set up a poll to see what people want more, for the Uchiha to survive or not, no guarantee that I’ll go along with it though if it doesn’t fit the story. Thanks for reading.**

**Omake**

**Why Shirou doesn’t need to worry about fangirls**

“We have to do something!” a girl said.

“Yeah! Those two hussies are monopolizing Shirou-kun! This has to stop!” another girl agreed.

The other girls there agreed as well. This was the first official meeting of the Toko Shirou Fan Club, and their first order of business, how to get Hyuuga Rin and Nara Sakura out of the way.

As long as those two were around, Shirou would have eyes for no other girl. It seemed that they were in agreement over the fact that only they were allowed to compete for Shirou’s affection. As long as Shirou was with them, they didn’t stand a chance.

“But how?” one girl asked. “They’re both of a higher station than any of us, so we can’t threaten their reputation or something like that.”

“And it’s not like any of us can actually beat them in a fight,” another said. They all grimaced, unlike them who were prim and proper girls, those two were monsters in a fight. They’ve continuously ended any taijutsu bout within 5 seconds of their instructors beginning it. The only one who could give them some trouble was Tenten, and she didn’t want anything to do with them.

“Maybe numbers will work?” one suggested.

“Yeah!”

“We corner one of them when they’re alone and no one’s watching,” another added.

“And if they refuse to leave Shirou, we beat them up!”

“It’s perfect!”

“So simple!”

“Let’s do it!”

*Line Break*

And so, one day they managed to corner Rin while she was alone.

“Listen up Hyuuga!” the leader said. “You’ll leave Shirou alone from now on! He’s ours now!”

“Yeah!” her fellow fangirls agreed.

“Oh,” Rin said with a raised eyebrow, not the least bit scared. Compared to Luvia, these fangirls were nothing. “What if I don’t want to?”

“Then we’ll beat you up!”

Rin struggled not to burst into hysterical laughter. Them, beat her up? Oh, this was hilarious. Not even Luvia could pry her away from Shirou, or was it the other way around? Either way, if the Finnish magus couldn’t do it, what chance did they have.

Rin didn’t quite manage to stifle her laughter.

“Hey! You think this is funny! There’s a dozen of us and only one of you!”

Rin calmed herself but still sported a huge grin. “It’ll be a lopsided fight then, instead of a massacre.”

“Oh yeah? What does Shirou-kun see in a brutish gorilla like you, anyway?!”

Rin stilled for a moment, her mind going back to her most hated rival using the same insult. Slowly, she gave the amassed fangirls the most fake smile ever. A brutish gorilla was she? She’d show them a gorilla!

Rin used her hand to motion them to come at her. She wouldn’t be too hard on them. Besides, getting knocked unconscious builds character, or so she was told.

“Get her!”

And so, a dozen rabid fangirls converged on the lone Hyuuga girl, intent on getting her to stay away from the object of their affections. As you all can probably tell, they didn’t succeed.

*Line Break*

“Ok, that was a disaster,” a girl groaned.

“She’s a monster! How does she think she’d ever get Shirou-kun with her brutish behaviour!” another said before groaning in pain at the bruises Rin gave her.

They were all easily swept aside by the Hyuuga and sent to the infirmary, unconscious. They didn’t know what excuse that monster gave the Head Nurse, but she treated them rougher than was probably necessary.

At least the Head Nurse was nothing like a certain Angel of Crimea, not that the fangirls knew that. She’d have promptly diagnosed them with a terminal case of idiocy and proceeded to operate on them until she cured them of their ailment, even if she had to kill them to heal them.

“Maybe we should go after the easier target.”

“The Nara? Ok, are we all agreed that we’ll go after her next?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”

“She’s a Nara. This’ll be easy!”

Let it be said that fangirls were never considered bright by any definition of the word.

*Line Break*

“Hey Sakura!” someone called out.

“Hmm?” Sakura turned to see who called her, only to see a dozen girls in her year there. “Yes, can I help you?”

“We’d like to talk, in private,” one of them said.

Sakura shrugged. “Sure, there’s an empty classroom nearby. We can talk there.”

And so, Sakura and the fangirls entered the empty classroom. Once the door closed, the ‘talk’ began.

*Line Break*

“That was a nice talk,” Sakura said as she opened the classroom door to leave. “Well, goodbye.”

The fangirls somehow managed to wave Sakura a shaky goodbye. Once she left, all of them collapsed.

“WAHHH!!!” one of them cried.

“She’s a demon! A demon I say!” another cried.

“Girls!” the leader said, recovering from her earlier fright. A commendable achievement, even if she needed a change in underwear. “Are we going to just give up on Shirou-kun?”

Several of the girls there seemed to steel themselves.

“But we have those two standing in the way,” a girl pointed out, making them all shiver in fear again. Rin would just beat you up, but Sakura? Sakura would make you wish you were never born.

“What about Neji?” one suggested. “He’s not Shirou, but he’s not a bad catch either.”

The girls there contemplated the suggestion. He had the standard Hyuuga pretty boy looks, was just behind the A-team in class, but his personality left much to be desired.

“Maybe we can just admire Shirou-kun from afar, yes?” the leader said, getting nods of agreement from everyone there. Even if they never got him, there were still plenty of other fish in the sea. Besides, maybe Shirou-kun would get tired of those two and throw them aside. There’d be an opportunity for an enterprising girl to score the most eligible boy in their year then.

Oh, those poor deluded girls. Rin and Sakura were never letting go of that one. Keep dreaming girls, keep dreaming.

Ignorance is bliss after all.


	12. Chapter 11

**Honestly, not very happy with this chapter. Will probably redo it at some point. Final Exams are coming up and after that, I’m going on vacation. Then there’s planning for my return to campus. Updates are going to be slower now, maybe once a month.**

**Also, someone copied my work over at webnovel.com, called ‘Path of Swords and Whirlpools’. Though he did mention that it was mine originally, he still should have asked permission. Not sure what to do about that. Should I report him or not?**

**On a brighter note, Summer has been kind to me, with Summer BB and Saber Medb gracing me with their presence in the gacha. Now I have to hope for similar luck in Fate/Accel Zero Order.**

**Tell me what you think about this chapter. Don’t hold back though try to include advice if you’re going to hit hard.**

**Betaed by Danga.**

Chapter 11

“I don’t get it,” Naruto said as he looked at the book in front of him. “How do you add and multiply in the same problem?”

“Like this, Naruto,” Shirou said and showed him the solution. “First, the multiplication always takes precedence in problems like this, then you add. That is unless the addition is covered in a bracket, then it needs to be solved first.”

“Huh?” Naruto still didn’t get it. Math was hard and confusing.

Naruto and his friends were revising their mathematics under the watchful eyes of Shirou, Rin and Sakura, who never bothered to study for any subject that was not unique to the Elemental Nations, like history and chakra theory. When you could do calculus with ease, solving primary school math was a breeze. They were all currently in Shirou’s house since it was not within clan grounds and thus not subject to the annoying thing called clan politics.

Neji was helping Rock Lee, while the younger kids were being helped by the trio. Well, Shikamaru was napping while the other kids were revising.

“Sigh, let’s try something easier first,” Rin said. “Here, try this question. Hinata, help him with it would you?”

“Ok, nee-san,” Hinata agreed. She went to sit next to Naruto and they both worked on the problem together.

“There, there Kiba-kun,” Sakura said as she crossed out his mistakes. “You just have to work harder. I’m sure you’ll get it with enough practice.”

“If you say so, Sakura-nee,” Kiba grumbled. Stupid math. It could go die in the pits of hell for all he cared. Except that his mom would kill him if he failed, and his sister was on a mission with her genin team out of the village, so no help there.

“Come on, Shikamaru,” Choji said. “Help me out here.”

Shikamaru groggily woke up and gave Choji’s work a once over. “It’s good. Can I go back to sleep now?”

“It is getting late,” Shirou noted as he looked at the clock. “You should all be getting back home now.”

“Can we at least have some sweets before we do?” Choji asked hopefully.

“Alright,” Sakura said. “But only one. Too many sweets before bedtime is bad for you.”

“Yeah, you’re the best!” Naruto cheered.

“Truly, she is a beautiful spring flower!” Rock Lee agreed.

They all quickly adjourned for the kitchen, eager to partake in Sakura’s delicious treats.

“Sigh, I forgot how boring primary school math could be,” Rin said.

“Just a few more years, Rin,” Sakura said as she put away the books they were using.

“How’s your pet project going, Shirou?” Rin asked. “Any progress?”

“Some,” Shirou said. “I can see why he never finished it within his lifetime. Even with magecraft and all my advantages, there’s barely any progress being made. At least we don’t have to worry about running out of funds.”

“Right, like what you’ve currently made can be considered failures,” Rin said.

“Compared to the desired product, they are,” Shirou retorted.

“Well, don’t work yourself too hard Shirou,” Sakura said. “We’re all still kids after all.”

“For a given value of it,” Anko said as she entered the house. “Evening kids, any treats for your favourite big sister?”

“In the kitchen, though you might have to fight the others for it,” Sakura said. “Long day? It’s several hours past your shift.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Anko groaned. “Now if you’d excuse me, I smell several cookies calling my name.”

Anko went to the kitchen, and immediately cries from the kids there sounded out as she stole the entire cookie jar and made off with it to her room.

“Too slow!” Anko cackled as she ran from the angry Naruto and Kiba who she had just stole the jar from.

“Good thing that I baked more,” Sakura said, amused. Never a dull moment in this house.

*Line Break*

Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of a hammer coming down on an anvil could be heard throughout the forge. The pattern never change, each blow always coming within the same amount of time as the one before it.

Shirou was in his forge, working. Looking at the sword he was currently forging, he focused every ounce of skill and technique he had into its making. Everything he had learned from the countless blades within his Reality Marble, and what he had learned from his time as the vessel of Heroic Spirit Sengo Muramasa.

Normally, a traditional katana would take as many as thirty craftsmen a year to complete. Modern machines could cut that time down to a few weeks. Shirou with his magecraft could compress that time down to a few hours for a mundane katana.

It had taken him a week to re-forge the White Light Chakra Sabre, and even then, most of that time was spent understanding the process of how the sword was made. His current project was something he had been working on for the past month, and it was finally nearing completion.

He cooled the sword in water, not even flinching as steam rose up as the water boiled. He inspected the finished product with the keen eye of a master swordsmith. The sword was a katana, with a blade that shone of silver and a simple hilt. It looked like a regular katana, but there was more to it than meets the eye. For this katana had the very concept of ‘cut’ forged into it. It was absurdly sharp, capable of cutting anything that it was swung at. Even if it was not long enough, any object cut with it would be sliced in half, defying all logic to impose the concept of ‘cut’ upon the object, all without needing chakra or magical energy to be channelled through it.

“Still not perfect,” Shirou mumbled as he put the katana aside with care. To anyone else, the katana he had just forged would be a weapon of the finest quality, perfectly balanced, light weight yet strong. A weapon that properly used and treated would no doubt serve well in any battle.

Shirou had different standards. He was trying to achieve Muramasa’s life goal. To forge a sword that could purge resentment, cut through bonds, fate, causality, and destiny, and slice through the idea of karma itself, preferably without the user dying after swinging it. Muramasa often griped about how he was content to use his abilities to create numerous low-quality blades, instead of focusing on one blade of the very highest quality.

Shirou had to admit, the old man who may be his ancestor had a point. There would come a day when he would need more than his copied Noble Phantasms. And so, Shirou worked in his forge to one day make the sword that Muramasa never completed in life.

So far, he had managed to forge several swords that he would never sell. Swords that were as much as a danger to the wielder as they were to the enemy. Swords that could kill the divine, the demonic and certain concepts, some at great cost to the wielder. He had asked Rin to help him make the most secure armoury that they could, since destroying his new creations would be absurdly difficult and he might actually need them one day. Never know when you had to kill a god after all.

“I need a break,” Shirou said, noting that it was nearing dusk. He had been at it all afternoon. Naruto was out with his friends, something that still made him smile as his little brother made friends his own age. Rin was having sister bonding time with Hinata, Sakura doing the same with Shikamaru. Anko was at work, probably milking some poor soul for every scrap of intel that he was worth. That left him alone in the house.

“Maybe a walk will help clear my mind,” Shirou mused. He had heard that there was an old abandoned temple on the east side of the village, might as well go take a look. His old friend Issei would probably be appalled at the thought of a temple being left to ruin. He missed him sometimes, one of the few friends he still kept in touch with that was not part of the Moon Lit World. Last he heard he was being groomed to take over the temple.

Shirou went to put away the newly forged sword into his secured armoury. The armoury was guarded with both seals and magecraft, and only Shirou was allowed to approach it. Anyone else would first receive an electric shock if they tried to enter, with increasingly lethal voltage if they persisted after the first few warnings. The final defence… well the would-be thieves would be leaving in a body bag, that was for certain.

Naruto had learned that lesson quickly after saying that he felt disturbed whenever he was near it. Must be the demon sensing the sword with anti-demonic properties forged into it. Good to know that even beings of great power knew to fear the swords he could make.

Shirou cleaned up his forge, putting out the fire and keeping the tools. A nice walk through a forest and a visit to an old temple might be good for him. Maybe he would even find some inspiration to help his little side project as well.

*Line Break*

Uchiha Shisui was not having a good time. Scratch that, he was not having a good few months ever since he found out his clan was planning a coup. At times, it felt as if he and Itachi were the only bastions of sanity within the clan.

The whole plan was insane. Take out the leadership of the village and assume control? In what messed up world would that even succeed? Large as the Uchiha clan was, they were dwarfed by the rest of the village at large. What was a mere two hundred shinobi against the thousands in Konoha? The Hyuuga clan alone was a match for their numbers, with shinobi of comparable skill and strength. They would never even entertain the thought of following the Uchiha after such a blatantly illegal power grab.

Oh, Shisui could see where the clan was coming from. Ever since the Kyuubi incident, there was a general distrust of the clan. People asked why no Uchihas were seen fighting the demon, when they had been charged with ensuring the safety of the civilians. People began complaining about the most minor of matters. This or that officer was overly aggressive. The Uchihas were thieves who couldn’t create an original jutsu to save their lives. An Uchiha was the first traitor in the village. Things like that.

The distrust and slander was at first ignored. But as it persisted over the years, more and more Uchihas became disgruntled at it. Were they not faithful shinobi of the village as well? Have the sacrifices of countless Uchihas over the course of three wars been forgotten? Why were their authority as the village’s law enforcers being questioned?

It got so bad, that just a few months ago, Shisui and Itachi were invited to a clan meeting to plan a coup! It was a desperate gambit that was doomed to fail. Even with Fugaku’s hidden Mangekyou Sharingan, that would at best mean he could keep up with the Hokage. Even if he, Fugaku and Itachi teamed up against the Hokage, Shisui didn’t like the odds. Two Mangekyou Sharingan wielders and a prodigy Uchiha heir against the Professor, who no doubt actually saw Uchiha fucking Madara in action with his own Mangekyou. Best case scenario was a mutual kill as far as he and Itachi were concerned. Old shinobi got that way by either being lucky, scarily good or a combination of the two. The Hokage was without a doubt the second one.

So, to save his clan and to keep a civil war from erupting, he and Itachi went to the Hokage with a desperate plan that had a high chance of succeeding. He would use the special ability of his own Mangekyou, the Kotoamatsukami, to make his clan head to drop this insane plan. Without the support of Fugaku-sama, the coup could not proceed.

It was a stop gap measure at best, both he and Itachi knew. But it would buy them time they desperately needed to turn things around for the clan. Fortunately, the Hokage approved of it, seeing it as the best way to resolve matters without bloodshed. He was going to meet Itachi at dusk to begin their plan but was asked for a meeting with Elder Danzo, who was there when he suggested the plan to Hokage-sama, at the old temple at the east side of the village.

Shisui was naturally suspicious. Elder Danzo had a certain reputation among certain circles, ANBU included. However, Shisui was confident that he would be fast enough to get away from any tricks the elder might have up his sleeves. He wasn’t considered the fastest shinobi in Konoha since the Yondaime for nothing.

When he reached the temple, the Danzo was already waiting at the entrance. A quick once over showed that there was no one else here, but Shisui wouldn’t be surprised if there was a squad of Root ANBU hidden among the shadows. They had clashed before and Shisui knew from experience that they were not to be trifled with. He had his Sharingan active, in case the old war hawk tried anything.

“What is it, Danzo-sama?” Shisui asked. “It’s almost time for the assembly to start.”

“Even if you used your doujutsu on Fugaku to get your clan to cooperate, what if the village doesn’t change?” Danzo asked.

“Hokage-sama has promised to make it change,” Shisui replied, face unchanged.

“Even if Sandaime-sama is satisfied, the distrust among the Leaf will not go away,” Danzo stated.

“I realize that. But in time…” Shisui replied.

“Besides, someone who is always suspicious like me will never change. What will you do then?” Danzo asked again.

“But Danzo-sama…” Shisui was taken back at the question.

“When the time comes, will you use your Kotoamatsukami on me too?” Danzo asked as he dropped his walking stick.

“I’m…” Shisui was unsure how to answer.

“Your Sharingan… shall be in my safekeeping!” Danzo lunged at Shisui, his one good hand going for his eyes.

“Forgive me.” Shisui’s Sharingan flashed as he placed Danzo under a genjutsu.

“It’s only genjutsu,” Shisui said as Danzo went limp. “You’ll snap out of it shortly.”

Shisui turned to leave, the mission was supposed to start soon. A punch to his gut stopped him cold in his tracks.

Danzo hit him three more times, taking advantage of Shisui’s stunned state, before grabbing him by his hair and lifting him into the air. His hand wound back, no doubt to steal Shisui’s eye while he had the chance.

Danzo was forced to abandon that plan as an arrow came in between him and Shisui, almost hitting Danzo in the head. Shisui wasted no time in retreating back, not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

“It would seem we have an interloper,” Danzo said with a frown.

“Sharingan…” Shisui said as the bandages covering Danzo’s right eye came loose.

“I was going to take yours to replace this eye,” Danzo said as his implanted Sharingan went blank. “Now stay still and let me take them.”

Danzo’s hidden Root ANBU came out of hiding, standing in front of Danzo.

Seeing that he was outnumbered, Shisui weaved several hand signs in quick succession.

“Fire Release : Fireball Jutsu!”

The ROOT ANBU wasted no time in countering the fireball Shisui spat at them.

“Water Release : Raging Waves!”

Streams of water were spat out by the ANBU, colliding with the fireball, covering the area in steam. Once the steam dissipated, Shisui was nowhere in sight.

“Shunshin no Jutsu,” one of them said as they looked at where Shisui was before.

“Go after him,” Danzo ordered. “And the interloper.”

His subordinates complied, vanishing to go after the two.

“Tsk,” Danzo said once he was alone. He had wasted his Sharingan all for nothing. Good thing that he still had spares. His old friend Kagami’s Sharingan was starting to degrade after all this time and he was hoping to replace them with his grandson’s.

He had no doubt that his men would fail in capturing both Shisui and the interloper, the latter no doubt having already been retrieved by Shisui. Uchiha Shisui’s speed was unmatched by anyone now, even if he was weighed down. He would have to prepare an ironclad alibi, no doubt Shisui would go to Hiruzen about this.

His old friend would be furious at his interference. They both never did agree with how the Uchiha should be handled, Hiruzen wanting reconciliation while he wanted to exterminate them. This might just be the final straw for Hiruzen, their old friendship would no longer save him. For the sake of Konoha, he would have to live.

*Line Break* 

“This was not what I had in mind when I went for a walk,” Shirou grumbled as he was being carried away by the person he saved a few moments ago.

He had walked towards where the old temple was, hoping the sights would provide inspiration for his forging. What he was not expecting was for the temple to be the meeting ground for two individuals, and for one to attack the other without warning. Shirou had reacted quickly when the old man suddenly appeared in front of the younger one, tracing a bow and arrow and sending an arrow flying between the two.

Next thing he knew, he was being carried away bridal style by someone in Uchiha clothing while they were being chased by what appeared to be ANBU.

“Names Shirou. So, what was that all about?” Shirou asked the Uchiha who seemed familiar. “And are you related to Itachi? You seem familiar.”

“Classified, best friend and the name’s Shisui,” the now named Shisui answered in quick succession, not stopping for a beat.

“Incoming,” Shirou warned as he spotted their pursuers take out kunai and shuriken.

Suddenly, they were no longer where they were a second ago, Shisui having used Shunshin to teleport them to a different tree. Just as well since the branch they were on was peppered with numerous kunai and shuriken.

“Hold on kid,” Shisui said. He sped up, leaving their pursuers in the dust. Shirou held on for dear life as Shisui ran at speeds that he was sure matched the cars from his previous life.

“I got to meet up with someone,” Shisui said. “Then we can go to the Hokage. He’ll explain everything.”

“Not like I’ve got much choice,” Shirou shrugged.

*Line Break*

Itachi waited patiently behind the big rock he was leaning against. He was dressed in his ANBU uniform, weasel mask on as he contemplated what he was about to do. It was betrayal of his clan in all but name, but if it kept the peace…

Shisui was late. It was already past dusk when they were supposed to meet. Suddenly, he heard the leaves of the tree above him rustle.

“Shisui?” Itachi asked.

“Come with me,” Shisui said, not bothering to show himself.

Itachi quickly followed Shisui, the two of them stopping at a nearby cliff overlooking the Naka River.

“Shirou-kun?” Itachi said as he noticed the boy who was a year older than his little brother. “Shisui, what is going on?”

“Danzo tried to stop me from using Kotoamatsukami on the clan,” Shisui said. “He wants to settle things his way. He almost got my eyes if not for Shirou here.”

“Then we have to hurry,” Itachi said at once. “The assembly will be over in an hour. You still have time to use it on my father.”

“Does this have anything to do with how the villagers seem to be turning against the Uchiha?” Shirou asked.

“Yes,” Itachi answered. He was already involved, might as well explain things to him. “The Uchiha clan are planning a coup d’état. The two of us disagreed with the rest of the clan and have been working with Hokage-sama to resolve things peacefully. Shisui has a special jutsu that allows him to manipulate the mind of his target. We were hoping to use it to stop the coup, buying us time to resolve this without bloodshed.”

Shirou turned serious. A coup d’état would no doubt lead to a civil war, then to a world war as the other villages would no doubt pounce on Konoha in their moment of weakness. The ethics of their solution aside, it was a way to solve things without bloodshed.

“Sorry about this,” Itachi suddenly said as he looked at Shirou with his Sharingan.

Suddenly, Itachi was no longer standing on the cliff. He was in a world where it was neither dawn or dusk, with great big gears in the sky. What really caught his attention was the innumerable swords that surrounded the field he was on, seemingly stretching on with no end.

“Where…” Itachi had intended to put Shirou under genjutsu, to put him to sleep and place him somewhere safe while he and Shisui proceeded with the mission. This was unexpected.

“Did you just try to put me under genjutsu?” Shirou asked.

Itachi turned to face him and was at a loss for words. Before him stood what could only be an adult version of the boy he knew. 

“I apologize,” Itachi said. “But it would seem that there is more to you than meets the eye.”

Shirou held back a snort. “That’s classified. But I suppose I can understand. As far as you’re concerned, I’m a liability.”

Itachi could only nod at that and broke off his attempted genjutsu. The two returned to the real world.

Shirou sighed. “How long will this mission of yours take? We can go see Hokage-sama right after it’s done.”

“A few moments at most,” Shisui said after getting over his shock at seeing Shirou break out of Itachi’s genjutsu like it was nothing. “I can put two at most before my eyes have to recharge for a decade.”

“Then I’ll wait for you two outside your compound,” Shirou said. “I can hold my own if Danzo sends anyone after me.”

The two Uchihas hesitated before agreeing. Time was not on their side after all.

*Line Break*

“So, your mission was a success then?” Hiruzen asked the two kneeling Uchihas in front of him.

They were in his private meeting room in Hokage Tower, Itachi and Shisui having just arrived after successfully placing their clan’s leadership under Kotoamatsukami.

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” Itachi said. “We have bought the village a few more months at the very least.”

“Hmm, good,” Hiruzen said. “I already have an idea on how to placate your clan. Hopefully, it will be enough to improve relations.”

The Hokage’s eyes narrowed. “Now tell me about what delayed you, Shisui-kun and how Shirou-kun got involved.”

“After our meeting earlier today,” Shisui said. “Danzo-sama asked to meet me at the old temple at the east side of the village. He expressed his belief that the plan would not work and tried to steal my eyes for himself. Were it not for Shirou, he would have succeeded in taking at least one of them. He had a Sharingan under his bandaged eye which he used to perform the forbidden Izanagi to get one over me.”

Hiruzen frowned. His old friend was getting bolder. Contrary to what Danzo thought, he was aware of some of what ROOT was up to. Not everything, but enough to know that not all was as he was told. And a Sharingan? How would he have gotten one?

“I was under the impression that all Uchiha corpses from the last war, barring poor Obito-kun were retrieved and their eyes confirmed to not have been stolen,” Hiruzen said.

“As far as we’re aware, yes,” Itachi said. “Perhaps from before? Or that it was Obito’s remaining eye?”

“It’s useless now,” Shisui said. “Izanagi allows the user to warp reality for a brief period of time, at the cost of the eye going blind. Unless he has a spare, he’s not going to be able to use the same trick twice.”

‘I can see why that jutsu was named after a god,’ Shirou thought. To make reality an illusion under your control, if but for a few seconds. What a terrifying ability. The sheer amount of applications were astounding.

“And what were you doing there, Shirou-kun?” Hiruzen asked, addressing him for the first time since the meeting started. “People rarely venture to that part of the village these days, not since the temple was closed down.”

“The old temple actually,” Shirou said. “I was curious about it and needed a break from my work. Thought I’d see what it was like. Never thought I would get involved in one of the village’s secrets though.”

‘Curse my E-ranked luck,’ Shirou grumbled internally. Rin would no doubt lament that only he could be so unlucky as to get involved in a plot to overthrow the village leadership while going out for a stroll.

Hiruzen sighed. “Now, I have to deal with Danzo. I’ve tolerated him before, but this has crossed the line. But he would no doubt run if there was even a hint that I intend to apprehend him. He no doubt has escape routes in case this ever happens, so any confrontation would need to guarantee that he cannot run.”

“ANBU teams to block his escape?” Itachi suggested.

“He would have his ROOT confront them, not that they would slow him down,” Hiruzen said. Say what you want about the old war hawk, he was crafty. Losing an arm and eye only seemed to improve it. 

“And it can’t be a large force as well,” Hiruzen added. “That would no doubt alert him to my intentions. No, I’ll have to confront him alone.”

“What if we could guarantee a one on one fight?” Shirou suddenly said.

“Then I can deal with him like I should have years ago,” Hiruzen said. “Do you have a way to guarantee such a situation, Shirou-kun?”

“If you can make sure he comes to us, then yes,” Shirou answered back. “However, once it starts, only one will be leaving alive.”

“Good,” Hiruzen grimly stated. “How long do you need?”

“A moment,” Shirou said. What he intended was so simple that even a mediocre magus like him could accomplish it without failure and in no time at all.

“Then get to it,” Hiruzen said. “What do you need?”

*Line Break*

Danzo grimly headed for the Hokage’s office. He was unable to stop Shisui from proceeding with his plan and no doubt his old friend had already heard about his interference. He had already made the arrangements. His ROOT was currently packing everything and setting charges to destroy all their bases in the village, which would no doubt cause mass confusion and buy them the time they need to escape.

As for himself? His last Sharingan would be a last resort if it came to it, that was if his ROOT could not slow down Hiruzen enough for him to escape. Hiruzen had always been the strongest of their generation, even with his eye and arm, he had no doubt Hiruzen could pull out a victory with ease. For the sake of the village, he would live to fight another day.

Danzo knocked on the door to the private meeting room.

“Enter,” Hiruzen said.

Danzo scanned the room they were in with his Sharingan. No hidden guards, no traps, no poison in the air and not a hint of chakra except that of Hiruzen’s. Just him and Hiruzen. Perhaps his old friend wasn’t about to kill him.

As soon as Danzo stepped foot into the room, he immediately regretted it. Just because his Sharingan didn’t see any hint of chakra, didn’t mean that there wasn’t something there.

Four runes formed from branches in a rectangular shape hummed with an unseen power that rewrote reality within the boundary of the room. All to guarantee one thing.

One on one combat.

Danzo’s ROOT guards immediately tried to enter to assist their master but were repulsed by the power of the runes. Danzo tried to escape as well but found that he could not move from his spot. It would seem that he would be forced to confront his old friend in combat.

Outside the room, the team of ROOT ANBU were ambushed by Itachi and Shisui. Danzo could only stare impassively at his old friend who had already shed his Hokage robes, revealing his combat attire underneath.

“It would seem that I have given you too much freedom in the past, my old friend,” Hiruzen said grimly, gripping the staff he had taken from his clan’s armoury. Summoning would not work here as it would violate the terms of one on one combat. Fortunately, he was just as good with a regular staff as he was with one transformed from his monkey summons. “That ends tonight.”

“So it would seem,” Danzo said as he began releasing the restraints covering his supposedly crippled right arm. “My men will not surrender to you and will not rest until they carry out my final orders.”

Hiruzen didn’t look worried. “You mean the ones in your new hidden base underneath the Eastern Plains? I’ve never interfered before in your activities, but did you think I never kept an eye on where you were based? Your personal force of fifty-three men excluding the ones that are with us are currently being engaged by _my_ loyal ANBU. I know that you recalled all your agents due to the Uchiha Coup and not a single one shall slip past us. Every scrap of information regarding your activities will be gone through with a fine comb. You are finished, Danzo.”

Danzo dropped the heavy bracer hiding his right arm. Hiruzen’s eyes narrowed as he sensed a familiar chakra signature coming from it, along with the numerous Sharingan implanted in the arm. “So you have implanted yourself with Shodai-sama’s DNA, as well as numerous Sharingans. Shisui-kun and Itachi-kun have already warned me about their clan’s kinjutsu. I just have to outlast you.”

Danzo didn’t answer. He merely got into a combat stance and motioned the Hokage to come at him. No matter the outcome of this fight, Danzo already knew that he was finished. Might as well try to take Hiruzen down with him.

The two old shinobi glared at one another, neither having any more words for the other. At an unseen signal, they blurred into action for perhaps the last time.

*Line Break*

Shirou watched the fight on the monitor impassively from a secured room underneath the Hokage Tower. Watching the two veterans fight was a humbling experience as they fought at a pace that would give even Servants second thoughts. So far, the Hokage had already killed Danzo three times within a minute. If it weren’t for his bullshit arm, that fight would be over by now.

They had wanted him to leave for a safer venue, but Shirou needed to stay within a certain distance to keep the spell powered. They settled for having him stay within the bunker beneath the Tower. Close enough to keep the spell powered, but far enough to not get caught in the fight.

Shirou’s contribution to the trap was a simple one. In an ironic twist, he was acting as a magical battery powering the runes trapping the two in one on one combat.

Ath’ nGabla, a spell for one on one death matches among the Knights of the Red Branch. By inscribing the runes Algiz, Nauthiz, Ansuz and Inguz in that successive order, the caster becomes forbidden from retreating and the target cannot refuse combat. And it seemed it trumped whatever reality warping ability Danzo had as well.

It was a remarkably simple spell, one that he managed to teach the Hokage within half an hour. Of course, such a spell was magecraft, not chakra and was thus unusable by the Hokage under normal circumstances. So with a bit of work, he had managed to modify it to accept his Od as the power source despite the caster being the Hokage.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that all magecraft in this world was many times more powerful and easier to use due to there being only three practitioners, such a thing would have failed. And to any actual rune users, what he had just done would earn a scathing remark for the shoddy workmanship.

Too bad the only other person adept at runes in this world was currently fast asleep with her two sisters. If luck would have it, she would never hear of this.

The camera didn’t last long as a stray jutsu destroyed it. Shirou sighed as his only way of observing the fight was destroyed. ‘I wonder how the others are doing?’

*Line Break*

Kakashi was not having a good night. He had thought he would never get involved with anything regarding the subdivision of ANBU that was not supposed to exist. After his brief stint as one, he immediately regretted it and was fortunate enough to escape along with Tenzo, formerly Kinoe, with the Hokage’s interference.

So, when the orders came from up high that they were purging the traitors in their village, he was less than pleased that it involved ROOT. When he heard that they had to capture at least some of them alive, he inwardly groaned as that was easier said than done. Too bad that it was his problem since he was in overall command of the task force in the field, while the ANBU Commander handled things from HQ. But with twice as many ANBU than the believed numbers of ROOT, that should be doable.

Getting into their base was surprisingly easy. For a supposedly top-secret subdivision of ANBU, they used the same tricks ANBU did to hide their bases. Of course, it helped that they already knew where to look and had a few Hyuugas with them.

Kakashi, now Agent Dog gave out hand signs, telling them to prepare to breach. Kakashi readied himself for the fight of his life. He knew first-hand how fanatically loyal ROOT was to Danzo. This was not going to be easy.

He looked at Tenzo and Yugao, Tiger and Cat respectively, wordlessly ordering them to get ready. The two members of Team Ro nodded under their masks. The other two members of the team were behind watching their flanks, ready in case any ROOT was returning to base and snuck up on them. 

The group commander gave the order to breach and Dog was the first through, Raikiri blazing as he immediately killed a hostile who was too close to the entrance. Simultaneously, the other entrances were breached by various other ANBU teams as they got the green light.

One down, fifty more to go.

*Line Break*

“How many minutes has it been?” Shisui asked as he and Itachi watched the battle going on between the Hokage and Danzo.

“Three,” Itachi answered as he made sure the defeated ROOT were secured. Of the five that they had engaged, only two were still alive. The other three didn’t exactly leave them much choice on the matter. The two survivors would live, though escaping would be difficult when one had a kunai through the knee and the other a broken leg. Difficult, but not impossible as ANBU had taught Itachi.

“The eyes on his arm,” Shisui muttered, moving Itachi’s attention to Danzo’s arm. It angered him greatly at seeing the arm. How many Uchihas had Danzo butchered in order to get that arm? But he noticed what Shisui had pointed out.

“Three minutes, three eyes have closed,” Itachi said as he realized what that meant. Danzo had eleven Sharingan, including the one in his eye, when the fight started. He only had eight now. “Hokage-sama, Danzo can only keep the technique active for eight more minutes at most!”

“Understood!” Hiruzen grunted as he dodged a wind covered shuriken. He caught another one with his staff and returned it to its sender. “You’ve gotten sloppy, Danzo,” he said as Danzo dodged the shuriken. “Too reliant on that arm of yours I believe. Was it a gift from my wayward student?”

Danzo snarled. Even with the modifications Orochimaru had done, it still wasn’t enough to beat Hiruzen. Age and years behind a desk hadn’t slowed him down one bit.

“Gah!!!” In a burst of speed, Hiruzen impaled his lightning tipped staff through Danzo’s chest. The Danzo in front of him promptly vanished as he spun around to block a strike from behind.

“That arm of yours is just cheating,” Hiruzen muttered. Four minutes had passed so far. Just seven more to go.

Danzo leaped back and bit his thumb, drawing blood.

Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram.

“Summoning Jutsu!”

Danzo slammed his palm down onto the ground, intending to summon one of the smaller elephants in his summoning contract. To his surprise, nothing happened. He had no more time to be surprised as a swing from Hiruzen’s staff broke his neck.

“Enforced one on one combat,” Hiruzen said as Danzo reappeared a few feet away from him. “Why did you think I didn’t summon my monkeys?”

Danzo began forming more hand seals.

Tiger. Dog.

“Wind Release : Vacuum Sphere!”

Danzo exhaled out a sphere of compressed wind at Hiruzen, who had already completed a chain of hand seals of his own.

Tiger. Hare. Boar. Dog.

“Earth Release : Earth-Style Wall!”

A wall of earth formed in front of him, shielding him from the wind.

*Line Break*

“How did the clan think we could ever succeed again?” Shisui asked as he and Itachi retreated further away from the room with their captives. Whatever that fuinjutsu was that Shirou had set up didn’t seem to stop jutsu from escaping, only keeping the participants of that duel to the death in while others out.

“Arrogance?” Itachi suggested as the room began to collapse. By now, others began to appear as the fight attracted attention. Hard not to when it was happening inside the Hokage Tower in the middle of the village. Fortunately, there were no civilian workers in the building at this hour.

“What is going on?” a chunin asked the two Uchihas. “Why is there fighting in the Tower!? Where is Hokage-sama!?”

“Danzo has betrayed Konoha and Hokage-sama is fighting him,” Itachi explained. “Help us secure the prisoners.”

“Ah… yes!” the Chunin said as he took in the two captive ANBU. “ANBU?”

“Danzo’s,” Shisui explained as they ducked away when the building shook from the force of the fight. “At this rate, the entire Tower’s going down.”

“The kids will be happy at least,” Itachi remarked. The Academy composed the bottom floors of the building. Which would not last much longer despite being built to be able to withstand heavy abuse.

“Five minutes left,” Shisui counted.

“Let’s hope Hokage-sama can finish this without destroying most of the building,” Itachi said as more shinobi came to investigate the disturbance.

*Line Break* 

“That’s the last one,” Yugao reported as they took down the last of ROOT inside the complex.

“Casualties?” Kakashi asked as he winced. One got lucky and managed to nick him with a kunai on his right thigh. He was decapitated by the White Light Chakra Sabre for his troubles.

“Two down with serious injuries,” Tenzo reported. “Dozen more with minor ones. We got lucky.”

“Secure Danzo’s office,” Kakashi ordered. “Retrieve any intel we can.”

“We’re in luck,” Hawk said as he approached Kakashi. “We got in right as one of the bastards was about to burn the files. Where would you like them, captain?”

“Have the intel secured and prepped for delivery to Intelligence,” Kakashi said. “What’s the situation regarding our prisoners?”

“Twenty-seven captured alive in various conditions,” Rabbit answered. “We also found where they train their new recruits, so that’s ten more we didn’t account for.”

“I believe we can call this a mission success, yes?” Kakashi said, getting nods from the various ANBU. “Commander, mission accomplished. All ROOT personnel within the village have been either killed or apprehended.”

*Line Break*

“Understood,” ANBU Commander Hound said from his command centre. The raid on Shimura’s home had just been reported as well. Fortunately, Danzo lived away from his clan’s compound, otherwise mounting a raid would have been politically inconvenient. They had nothing to show for it though, aside from two ROOT agents stationed there, no intelligence was found so far. They were still searching the house though, so that may change.

Hound moved his focus to the monitor showing the Hokage Tower. So far, the fight had gone on for eight minutes. Already, the building looked close to collapse as the two S-ranked legends fought each other. First responders were already forming a cordon, keeping the curious away from the fight.

Fights between shinobi usually didn’t last this long, usually settling themselves within a minute or two at most. The exception was for fights between weaker shinobi and very powerful ones. Battles between S-ranked shinobi were rare, but usually had devastating effects.

Hound internalised a sigh. What a night to be ANBU Commander. Damn his predecessor for dying against the Kyuubi, leaving him with this mess. And to compound matters, trees were now growing out of the building. Just what had Danzo done to himself?!

*Line Break*

Danzo was getting desperate. He had always known that he was weaker than Hiruzen, ever since their Academy days when they were still wet behind the ear brats. Even with his body modifications, it seemed the gap between them was as wide as ever.

Ram. Horse. Dragon.

“Earth Release : Earth Dragon Bullet!”

Tiger.

“Fire Release : Fire Dragon Bullet!”

Hiruzen launched two jutsus at Danzo in quick succession, both combining to become more dangerous.

‘Can’t dodge!’ Danzo thought as in his panic, he temporarily lost control of the Hashirama cells in his arm.

“Gah!” A tree began growing out of Danzo’s right arm. Danzo managed to detach the arm from his body, the tree growing out of it blocking Hiruzen’s jutsu.

Hiruzen could only look at the tree in annoyance. “That’s going to be annoying to destroy.”

Danzo panted as without his arm, he only had one last Sharingan in his eye. And the seal on his chest.

With one last desperate charge, Danzo tore off the remains of his shirt, revealing the Reverse Four Symbols Seal on his chest. “If I must die, then I’m taking you with me!”

Danzo got within a metre of Hiruzen, activating the seal. ‘Goodbye old friend. This is the end for both of us.’

Danzo frowned as the seal failed to activate. Looking down, he saw Hiruzen’s hand on his chest, having finished placing a seal of his own to counter Danzo’s.

Hiruzen kicked Danzo away, causing him to fall on his back. Hiruzen could only look at his old friend impassively, knowing full well how this had to end.

“Do it,” Danzo told his old friend, defeated. He was out of chakra, lost his arm and the Sharingan in his eye just deactivated, meaning he couldn’t use Izanagi even if it was pointless at this point. “I’m finished and we both know it.”

Hiruzen didn’t say anything. With a quick thrust, his staff pierced through Danzo’s chest, crushing his heart.

Looking at the body of his friend, Hiruzen could only feel the years piling on him. “I’m not sorry for doing it, Danzo. But I’m sorry that I had to do it.”

Hiruzen thought back to simpler times when the village was in its infancy, when a young Sarutobi and Shimura would play and spar together. He would not mourn the man Danzo had become, but he would mourn who he used to be before war and time had turned him into this.

The field confining the two lowered, the conditions for its release having been met. Several floors below, Shirou perked as the drain on his Od reserves ceased.

‘Looks like the fights over,’ Shirou mused. Now they just had to deal with the fallout. Well, the Hokage and the two Uchihas did. Officially, he was never here and knew nothing about the events of tonight except for what everyone else knew. Lucky him.

*Line Break*

“Hokage-sama?” Itachi asked as he and Shisui led a team of ANBU to the room where he was fighting Danzo.

They found the Hokage sitting next to the body of the dead elder, hole through his chest showing that he was dead for certain. The Hokage had seen better days but compared to the armless corpse next to him, he was practically smelling like daisies.

“Report,” the Hokage said.

“The ROOT complex as well as Danzo’s house have been raided. We have all known ROOT personnel accounted for and prisoners as well,” Shisui reported, having been informed by the ANBU Commander over the comms.

“Good,” Hiruzen grunted as he got up. “I hope you weren’t expecting to get any sleep tonight. We have work to do.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” the gathered ANBU said.

*End* 

**Leave a review if you enjoyed this. Also leave one if you feel that I could have done better. Stay safe.**

Omake (If Danzo was captured alive)

“This is taking forever,” Inoichi said. “His mind is harder to crack than a mountain. We’ll never break him at this rate.”

The subject of Inoichi’s ire was literally disarmed and once again blinded in one eye Shimura Danzo. The elder was shackled to a chair in one of T&I’s interrogation rooms, being worked on by some of their best interrogators to extract every bit of information out of the traitor’s mind.

He was being restrained by iron shackles on his remaining arm, chest and both legs, chakra restraining seals restricting his ability to use chakra and no less than half a dozen ANBU agents outside his room at all times. Overkill? Perhaps. But no one was taking any chances with the old war hawk.

They had been working on him for days but were no closer to breaking him than they were when they started. They needed results soon or a lot of loose ends were going to get away. Unfortunately, he was immune to the Yamanaka clan’s techniques, meaning that they had to break him the old-fashioned way, which he was trained to resist. The old man practically wrote the book on resisting interrogation, no way was he breaking under their pansy assed attempt at it.

The door to Danzo’s observation room was kicked in by one of his best and most troublesome subordinates.

“The sexy and single Mitarashi Anko is here!” Anko announced cheerfully as she entered the room, not caring about the looks her colleagues were giving her.

“Anko, not in the mood,” Ibiki said as he massaged his forehead. “Unless you have a way to crack Danzo in less than 24 hours, expect to be volunteered for the graveyard shift.”

“As a matter of fact, I do have an idea about that,” Anko answered, looking far too happy about it. She raised a pair of headphones connected to a cassette player. “This will break him, or nothing else will.”

Inoichi sighed. “Why not? We’ve tried almost everything else. Might as well give this a try.”

Under the watchful eyes of several ANBU agents, Anko entered the cell and placed the headphones on the elder’s ears. She played the cassette, earning her a scornful look from Danzo.

“You will not break me,” he said.

“Trust me,” Anko replied. “In a few hours, you’ll be begging me to make it stop.”

Anko left the room without a care. This man worked with her bastard of a sensei. He deserved what she just gave him.

*A few hours later*

“And that is everything I know!” Danzo told his interrogators, who had filled up two books worth of intelligence dating back to the First Shinobi World War. “Please, just make it stop!”

“What was that cassette playing?” Inoichi asked Anko as he looked at the results in awe. He had expected months of work to gradually break the elder’s defences, not for them to manage it within hours.

“A little childhood song I got from our favourite kids,” Anko said. “Apparently, they used it as torture back in the day after they realized that aside from kids, no one else liked it. And when the kids started singing it over and over without end, the adults would do anything to get them to stop.”

“Does this song have a name?”

“It roughly translates into ‘The Song That Never Ends’, literally,” Anko answered.


	13. Chapter 12

**So, I’m back. Sorry this took so long. Someone in my university’s administration thought it was a bright idea to have the next semester exactly one week after the last one ended.**

**Well, that and FGO is just that much fun. Somehow, somehow, I managed to get two banana oni, everyone’s favourite OG Saber, a trap Astolfo and an overworked Waver. All this when I was trying for Sitonai, but Illya just wouldn’t come to my Chaldea.**

**I finally finished all the Singularities, Remnants and the two Lostbelts. Can’t wait for the third Lostbelt, then Padoru Season shall be upon us once more!**

**Also, title change if you haven’t noticed. The old one just didn’t work anymore as this story grew apart from the original I adopted this from.**

**So, this new chapter is a time skip to their graduation, team assignments and all that.**

**Betaed by Danga.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter 12

Shirou was busy cooking breakfast, already changed for his last day at the Academy. It had been a mundane four years since the incident involving village secrets and conspiracies he unwittingly stumbled into just because he wanted to take a break from the forge.

Things had been hectic for the village in the immediate aftermath. An Elder running a Black Ops unit was honestly not surprising. The fact that he had abused the autonomy given to him by virtue of being the Hokages childhood friend and fellow student under the Second Hokage was much more concerning.

The extent of his involvement in that, aside from saving one Uchiha Shisui from having his eyes stolen by Danzo, was to aid in trapping the Elder for the Hokage to confront him. While his knowledge regarding Magecraft outside of his specialized field was limited, he still did a pretty good job setting up the trap if he did say so himself. Of course, if Rin had seen it, she would have berated him over sloppy work and be amazed that it hadn’t collapsed in on itself.

The details of what Danzo had been up to was unknown to him, but from what village gossip told him, it resulted in an uproar among most of Konoha’s shinobi clans, especially the Uchiha. Things had been tense among everyone, with the civilians none the wiser with how heavily suppressed the knowledge was. The Academy functioned as normal, and life in the village went on as if nothing had happened. However, the signs were there if you knew what to look for.

Sakura mentioned that her aunt looked as if she had gone through the ringer the few times she saw her that week, while her uncle looked more serious and motivated than was believed possible from a Nara, a sure sign that shit had hit the fan. Rin said that her father looked as if he was minutes away from finding the closest training ground and letting loose on some poor training dummy whenever he returned from the many meetings he attended during that time.

He hadn’t seen Anko for several nights straight, with just a note informing him that she was called away for an emergency mission and that she would be gone for a while. Naruto was naturally curious but was easily distracted and soon forgot about it. Rin and Sakura, not so much. The two had given him exasperated looks, telling him that they knew that he was somehow involved in all of this, but didn’t ask after he told them about the gag order by the Hokage.

One week later, the Hokage announced that he was taking Uchiha Itachi as his apprentice and training him to be his successor. Now that was the cause of much excitement. Itachi was easily one of the most powerful up and coming shinobi the village had produced in recent times, with a reputation already on par with the likes of Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai. His strength was never in question, however there was some concern that his ties to his clan might affect his decision making when he took over the reins of Hokage.

Then the announcement by Itachi that he was renouncing his claim to heirship of his clan shocked everyone. Poor Sasuke had been ascended from the spare to the heir, though he appeared to take it in stride, no doubt his family had already talked to him about it. His friends made fun of him for it, but things didn’t change among the friends.

Rin had ranted at him over how he had one upped her, her unspoken rival having become the next Hokage where she’d be in a subordinate position once she took the mantle of Hyuuga clan head. When Sakura mentioned the Hokage’s massive workload, she stopped ranting and started cackling over Itachi’s future suffering.

None of that really mattered now as Shirou placed several strips of crispy bacon onto a plate. He was graduating, a few hours away from receiving his forehead protector and officially becoming an adult in the eyes of the village. The day had finally come, and he was honestly pretty excited about it.

“Breakfast is ready!” Shirou yelled.

“Coming!” two voices replied. Into the dining room, Anko and Naruto ran in, the smell of breakfast compelling them to arrive at once.

“Shirou-nii, smells great!” Naruto said as he jumped into his seat and immediately picked up his fork and spoon. He was about to dig in before a hand came to pinch his cheek.

“Wait for everyone to be seated, brat!” Anko said.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Naruto cried in pain. “I’m sorry! Let go Anko-nee!”

“That’s more like it,” Anko said as she sat down. Shirou sat down as well.

“Itadakimasu!”

The three of them dug into the breakfast had prepared for them, having become routine after living together for the past few years.

“So kid, last day before you become a genin, huh?” Anko said.

“Yeah,” Shirou said. “I have to pass the exams first though.”

Anko snorted, as if he wouldn’t pass. He was overqualified as far as she was concerned. “Tell you what, why don’t I take you out to celebrate your new status tomorrow?”

Shirou narrowed his eyes. “And what would this celebration involve?”

“Oh, you know,” Anko said innocently, convincing neither of the boys at the table. “Bar hopping?”

“I’m underage,” Shirou said drily.

“Baah!” Anko said. “Old enough to kill, old enough to drink, I always say. Why, I had my first cup of sake back when I was eight! Though maybe that should wait for your first C-rank?”

“Yeah, let’s not,” Shirou said. His memories of having to look after a drunk Taiga after she came home from overindulging at the bar and he had to carry her home dissuaded him from getting drunk.

“Oh, that’s right, you’re graduating today,” Naruto said, a little sad.

“Why the long face, brat?” Anko asked. “It’s not like he’s leaving the house? Sure he won’t be around when he’s out on missions, but you’ll still see him often enough.”

“It’s just that I should be graduating with him!” Naruto said. “Stupid written tests! Who needs them anyway!”

Naruto had once again tried to graduate early, taking the genin test and failing miserably at the written portion. Oh, Shirou was sure that he could pass the physical portions, but he still needed more time before he was ready for the written tests.

“Brat, don’t you want to graduate with the rest of your friends?” Anko asked. “What’s one more year? Don’t you want to spend more time with that little girlfriend of yours?”

“Huh? Oh, Hinata-chan!” Naruto said. “But I like Sakura?”

Anko shook her head at the dense little boy. She looked at Shirou, as if it was his fault that Naruto was oblivious to Hinata’s crush on him. The two were too dense to notice that the girls in their lives had pretty obvious crushes on them. Hinata for Naruto, and Rin, Sakura, the Nara one, and that twin bun-haired girl for Shirou.

You would think that having lived with the two as an adult in a past life would make him realize that they were more than just friends. But nooo! He just had to be the dense charmer type, able to effortlessly seduce any girl he met, remaining oblivious to it.

“Haruno Sakura,” Shirou said. “Are you sure about that? She doesn’t seem to like you one bit.”

“But… she’s so pretty and smart and…” Naruto was about to go on but Anko’s hand shut him up.

“Yeah, yeah, we know kid,” Anko sighed. “This is hardly the first time you went on about her. Kids these days…”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Naruto demanded.

Shirou sighed. Just another morning in the Toko house.

*Line Break*

“What’s taking him so long,” Rin said impatiently as she and Sakura waited outside their classroom for Shirou. Both of them had their forehead protectors in their hands after the final test, performing the Academy Three Ninjutsu, the Transformation, Substitution and Clone Jutsus. Not like such jutsus were a problem to the Hyuuga and Nara prodigies.

“Be patient, Rin,” Sakura said. “Maybe he got stuck on the Transformation Jutsu again?”

Rin groaned. “He better not! After all the work we put into helping him figure it out.”

“Well, so long as he doesn’t transform into a sword this time,” Sakura said. “Who knew that having a Reality Marble made performing certain jutsus difficult?”

“Not to mention the difficulty he has using Elemental Ninjutsu,” Rin sighed. “Honestly, if he ends up turning into a katana again, I’m using him to chop wood!”

“Nee-san…” Sakura said with a sweat drop.

Finally, the door opened and Shirou walked out. He shook his head sadly, getting gasps of shock from the two girls, before smirking and showing them the forehead protector in his hand.

“You jerk!” Rin said as she went to hit Shirou. “For a second there, you had me all worried that you didn’t pass!”

“So you do care,” Shirou said.

Rin blushed. “Th-That’s not the point! I was just worried that if you didn’t pass, we’d get some no name on our team! Yeah, that’s it!”

“Whatever you say, Rin,” Sakura said. “What makes you think we’ll be on the same team anyway? Aren’t team placements next week?”

“As if they would place us anywhere but the same team,” Rin said. “Not with what the Hokage knows. I’m sure the traditional Rookie of the Year, Top Kunoichi and Dead Last team will go to Neji, Tenten and Rock Lee.”

“Poor Lee,” Sakura said. “At least they’re letting him pass despite his disability.”

“I’d say his Taijutsu more than made up for it,” Rin said. “Still, Dead Last…”

“Even if they failed him, Gai-san would have taken him on as his official apprentice anyway,” Shirou said. “In fact, that’s them now.”

“Gai-sensei! Look! I’ve passed!” Rock Lee shouted.

“Lee! My precious student! I am so proud of you!” Gai shouted back. “I promise to do my best to get appointed as your team’s sensei, or else I will run ten laps around Konoha…”

“Only ten?” Rin said, “that’s rather restrained…”

“…on my fingers!”

“…there we go,” Rin said as Gai finished his sentence. Gai was doing crazy things. All was right in the village.

“No sensei!” Rock Lee said. “If I don’t have you as my sensei, I will…”

“Will you be quiet?” Neji said. “I swear, there should be a mute button on you two.”

Tenten sighed. “Give it up, Neji. At least once we get teams, we won’t have to put up with this.”

Tenten perked up as she saw Shirou, making Rin and Sakura tense as she got closer. She skipped right over to him.

“Shirou!” Tenten said, seeing the forehead protector in his hand. “You passed!”

“So did you,” Shirou said, seeing one on her head as well.

“Do you remember that promise you made when we were four?” Tenten asked.

“You still remember that!?” Shirou said incredulously. “We were four!”

“And I’m still waiting for that sword,” Tenten said.

Shirou sighed. “Alright, fine. I’ll talk to you mom about it later, see if she thinks you’re ready for live steel.”

“We could go get lunch together…” Tenten said. “Make it a date.”

“Great,” Rin said. “Now get off him! And we’re going with him!”

Sakura frowned as well, not liking how close Tenten was to her senpai.

 **‘Why won’t you let me scare her, just a little,’** BB pouted in Sakura’s head.

‘No,’ Sakura thought back.

 **‘Come on!’** BB whined. **‘A little fright never harmed anyone. Look! She’s placing her hand on his chest!’**

Tenten was in fact, placing her hand on Shirou’s chest, making him squirm uncomfortably as Rin was further enraged by her blatant attempt to steal her man.

Sakura twitched. ‘Still no.’

**‘Spoil sport.’**

Neji sighed. Whenever Shirou was around, Tenten tended to act somewhat like a fangirl. Somewhat. Outside of those times, she was a model kunoichi, someone he wouldn’t mind having as a teammate. He wished he would be placed with Rin-sama, but no two members of the same clan were ever placed on the same genin team. Something about fostering bonds between other clans.

“Gai-sensei! Why do Rin and Tenten look like they want to tear the other to shreds?” Lee asked.

“Ah, that is how girls are when they have their sights on the same male,” Gai explained, as if the two girls were tigers and Shirou was a poor gazelle who they were both after. “It’s honestly best if you don’t think too hard about it.” Not even Gai was crazy enough to get in between a catfight after all, though he would intervene if things looked to be getting violent.

None of them were aware that they were being observed. 

*Line Break*

“So, that’s the team you want to assign me this time?” a silver-haired man said, face obscured by the face mask he wore, and the forehead protector slanted over one eye. “And you’re telling me a few days early too. Aren’t team placements supposed to be decided only after the current class graduates?”

Kakashi had been taken out of ANBU by Hiruzen himself a few years ago, citing that he was starting to burn out with the pace he was going. To remedy that, the Hokage had put him on the jounin sensei roster, believing looking after and training a team would help heal the psychological wounds that were still hurting from losing so many that he cared for. Inoichi even signed off on it too, agreeing with him.

Unfortunately, Kakashi placed high expectations on his genin, failing them outright every time. There was nothing he could do about it either, since the final test was up to the jounin sensei. The genin he failed also turned into better shinobi for it too, learning the importance of teamwork, so it couldn’t be said it was all bad. This time though, well, let’s see how he would get out of teaching these three.

“Yes, Kakashi,” Hiruzen said. “Team Seven will be Hyuuga Rin, Nara Sakura and Toko Shirou with you as their sensei. As for why we’re telling you now, let’s just say there was never any doubt regarding those three.”

Kakashi read the files that the Hokage had given him. Academy reports, little things that the chunin senseis compiled to aid in team assignments. He felt his heart pull a little at seeing the Hyuuga’s name. Spelt differently though it may be, the name was far too similar to his dead teammates for his comfort.

Itachi, his apprentice, watched silently as his shishou briefed his former ANBU Captain about the team he was being assigned. He was, of course, observing the exchange and learning all he could from the two more experienced shinobi. He would have a voice in the meeting to decide team placements that night and wondered if he would be able to give some input on team placements next year when Sasuke graduated, or would that be favouritism?

They were watching the various genin and one jonin using Hiruzen’s crystal ball. The unique product of high level Fuinjutsu, a collaboration between two Fuinjutsu Masters, Uzumaki Mito and Senju Tobirama, allowed the Hokage to observe anything going on in the village within a certain range. Whether or not that range included the hot springs was something he never told anyone about.

They were observing the three of them interact with others in their class and one Maito Gai. Kakashi still shuddered at the thought of Gai’s Youthfulness being passed on to an apprentice. Was Konoha doomed to have a champion of Youth in every few generations?

Kakashi sighed. “Well if it’s those three, guess I’ll have no choice but to accept then. Of course, they have to pass the bell test first.”

Hiruzen held back a snort. “Those three will see through you the moment you finish explaining the test.”

Kakashi shrugged. “No reason not to try, Hokage-sama. Though this team seems a bit… how do I say it? Overpowered?”

“Yes,” Itachi said, finally saying something. “Three prodigies in a single year is quite unexpected, especially in the same class and practically a team right from the start. We tried to figure out how to best place them, but any other team configuration just didn’t work out.”

“The Hyuuga Princess, Jonin Commander’s niece and a genius blacksmith,” Kakashi said. “Maa maa, you sure have a high opinion on my teaching skills if you think I can teach them anything.”

“Ah, yes, Shirou-kun was the one who re-forged your father’s tanto if I’m not mistaken,” Hiruzen said.

Kakashi looked at the sheathed blade on his waist. “It’s better than before I’d say.” Kakashi looked at his Hokage. “What am I cleared to know about those three?”

“Oh?” Hiruzen said. “And what makes you think they’re anything but regular newly minted genin?”

Kakashi gave a deadpan look at Sarutobi. “Sir, you do realize that I am aware of their involvement in the Hyuuga Affair, not to mention Shirou’s involvement in the Danzo Incident a few years back, right?”

Hiruzen frowned at the mention of Danzo. The clean-up from that took months to finish. Danzo’s crimes were many. Assassinations of various people throughout the nations including even members of the Daimyo’s court, manipulating and making deals with several others behind his back, the intimidation of the smaller clans to hand over promising members and of course Danzo’s subtle defamation campaign of the Uchiha clan.

Him taking Itachi on as an apprentice and successor was partially to make amends to the Uchiha, while forcing him to renounce his heirship in exchange as a reminder that their planning of a coup was not exactly forgotten. The Uchiha accepted that this was the best they would get. While their prestige would rise considerably with Itachi as the next Hokage, they also lost him as the most powerful member of the clan. It was enough for both sides though, and peace returned to Konoha once again.

Danzo also had contacts and informants everywhere, not all of them willing. Assassinating the ones that would talk over the course of a week before they found out Danzo was no longer there to hold their leashes was difficult, but ANBU managed to remove every single possible leak within the time frame.

When the world found out Elder Danzo had passed, most of the civilians in Konoha believed it was due to complications involving old injuries. The other shinobi villages were sceptical, as was usual when dealing with enemy shinobi, but aside from some attempts to dig out more information using spies, weren’t too interested. If they knew about Danzo’s activities in regard to their own villages, that would have been a different thing.

“I’ll tell you more after you pass them next week,” Hiruzen said.

“If I pass them,” Kakashi said. “Well, see you. I have a hot date with one of Jiraiya-sama’s masterpieces.”

Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Hiruzen grumbled as Itachi blew the leaves out of the window with a simple Wind Release Ninjutsu. “Damn it Kakashi! The door’s there for a reason!”

Besides, everyone knew that Jiraiya’s work was old news. Not when there was an even better author of adult literature in the market. Their books had actual plot in them and were written by someone who actually seemed experienced in the tantric arts! Then again, not everyone had the advantage of once sharing headspace with a literal goddess of love.

*Line Break*

“Oh, this is wonderful!” Tsukiko exclaimed as she took pictures of her daughter and friends as they entered the shop wearing their forehead protectors. “You all passed!”

“Like there was any doubt,” Tenten said as she went to hug her mother. “We’re here so that Shirou can talk to you about that sword he promised me!”

“You didn’t think she’d remember, did you?” an amused Taichi said, putting down a katana he was polishing.

“Yeah,” Shirou sighed as the others went to browse the shop. They had come here after lunch, no more class since they graduated. “I need a new wardrobe too for genin work. Anything you’d recommend?”

“Nothing in red and black!” Rin and Sakura shouted from somewhere in the clothing section of the shop.

“What do you two have against red and black?” Neji asked, looking through several boxes of kunai and shuriken. He didn’t need them or a new wardrobe, the Hyuuga clan providing for its shinobi, but he needed something to occupy his time while the others browsed.

“It’s… complicated,” Rin said.

“Where’s Lee-kun?” Tsukiko asked, not finding the training obsessed boy anywhere.

“He said that Gai-san had a graduation gift for him,” Tenten said with a shrug.

*Elsewhere*

“Lee!” Gai shouted. “As you are a genin from now on, it is imperative that I, as your sensei, present you with a gift for achieving such a milestone!”

“Thank you Gai-sensei!” Lee shouted. 

“Now…” Gai pulled something out from his forehead protector which he wore as a belt. What he pulled out was a green jumpsuit like the one he wore.

Lee got all teary and emotional. “Gai-sensei! I love it! I shall strive to be like you in every way!”

“Lee!”

“Gai-sensei!”

“Lee!”

“Gai-sensei!”

Throughout Konoha, its inhabitants felt a great disturbance, as if something unnatural had just happened. Those that knew better however, correctly identified it as Gai finding a mini me. A certain one-eyed scarecrow looked up from his book, certain that dark times were coming.

*End*

“I just felt a great disturbance,” Rin suddenly said. “As if fashion sensibilities everywhere just cried out in agony before being silenced.”

“Really?” Sakura said. “I didn’t feel anything. Anyway, what do you think I should wear as my shinobi standard?”

“Doesn’t the Nara clan have its own uniform?” Rin asked, riffling through the rack.

“Yeah, but since when has that stopped anyone?” Sakura said. “Huh, this is…”

“Hmm? What did you find?” Rin asked. “Gah! That’s…”

That being the outfit Shirou wore when he was hosting Muramasa as a Pseudo-Servant. It was basically some pants and a single sleeve, covering nothing above the waist.

The two sisters in another life stared at the outfit.

“Should we get it for Shirou?” Sakura eventually asked. “I mean, it’s too big for him now, but in a few years…”

The two blushed. Saber Sengo Muramasa’s outfit left very little to the imagination, showing off an adult Shirou’s well-sculpted body.

“No, no, no!” Rin suddenly exclaimed. “Think about the others! We can’t have Shirou-kun attracting more girls than he currently does with his natural charm!”

 **‘We’ll kill them!’** BB declared.

‘Please don’t get into a murder spree,’ Sakura thought back. ‘Besides, we’ll be at it for our whole lives.’

 **‘Good point,’** BB agreed.

“Let’s keep this a secret and buy it later,” Rin whispered.

“Buy what?” Shirou asked from behind them, getting a ‘eep!’ from the two. “Hey, that’s Muramasa’s old outfit. How’d it get here?”

“Well, we were wondering if you were interested in it,” Sakura said.

“Hmm, I don’t think this is a good fit for me at the moment,” Shirou said. “Besides, this is closer to samurai wear than shinobi wear.”

“Right,” Rin said. “Hey, this looks good!”

Rin pulled out a yukata that was red and black in her size. She put it over herself. “Well, what do you think?”

“It’s really you, Rin,” Shirou said. “Suits you perfectly.”

“It really does,” Sakura said. “Wouldn’t be nee-san without red. But I’m not sure it fits with the casual appearance we were told genin were supposed to have.”

“Well, I’m a rich heiress, so this fits the part,” Rin said. “Besides, it looks good and I like it, though I suppose I’ll save it for when we’re not doing D-ranks. What are you two wearing?”

“Oh, you know, something casual,” Sakura said. “Oba-san already helped me out with it. I’m just browsing right now.”

“Why would you go clothes shopping if you already have an outfit picked out?” Shirou asked.

The two girls looked at him weirdly. “Do we need a reason?”

“Oh, did you finish talking to Tsukiko-san about Tenten’s sword?” Rin asked.

“Yeah,” Shirou said. “So, apparently I shouldn’t make her something like a full-sized katana, since she’s not quite at the age where she can use it to the fullest. So, I’m just making her a kodachi. Maybe I’ll make her something better when she’s older.”

“Knowing you, it’ll be the best sword she’ll ever use,” Sakura said. “By the way, do you have an outfit picked out yet?”

“Uh, no,” Shirou said. “I just never got around to it.”

The two girls had a vicious gleam in their eyes, something that made Shirou very wary for reasons he knew not.

“Shirou,” Rin said sweetly. “You’re not leaving until we find something that satisfies us.”

Shirou felt as if his life was in greater danger than the time he fought Berserker with Saber.

*Line Break*

“Team One is…” the sensei said, announcing the team placements for the year's graduating class.

Shirou, Rin and Sakura waited patiently for their names to be called out.

Rin was wearing a black top with black pants and a red jacket over it all, not too different from what she usually wore, just tougher and less likely to get torn up. She wore her kunai pouch on her right, with a bandoleer of sorts around her where she kept her jewels and other tools.

Sakura wore a white T-shirt under a peach-coloured jacket and light blue shorts, kunai pouch behind her. She didn’t stand out much, which was probably the idea.

Shirou on the other hand, had his outfit picked out by the two girls. After hours of making Shirou change into different outfits, they eventually settled for grey pants, dark blue shirt and a tan vest. It honestly looked quite good on him, if Anko’s words were to be believed. Naruto just complained about the lack of orange.

“Team Seven will be Toko Shirou, Hyuuga Rin and Nara Sakura under Hatake Kakashi,” the sensei said. “Team Eight is…”

“Aww…” many of the boys there groaned. Trust Shirou to be put on the same team as the two hottest girls of their class. Many of the girls there glared at Rin and Sakura for stealing Shirou from them, mostly the ones with crushes on Shirou. Tenten was upset as well, but grasping the handle of her new kodachi, decided not to make a fuss of it. Besides, new weapon or nor, those two could still kick her ass six ways to Sunday.

“Team Nine will be Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji and Tendou Tenten under Maito Gai…”

“YOSH! I am so glad that we have…” Lee cheered only to have his skull caved in by Tenten.

“We know! Now keep quiet for the next few minutes as sensei finishes, will you?” Tenten said.

Neji was looking at the ceiling, praying to the gods for what reason he deserved this punishment? Oh, Gai was a strong jounin for certain, anyone his uncle considered strong had undoubtedly earned it. If only he wasn’t so… so… youthful.

“And that’s all,” the sensei finished. “Wait here until your jounin sensei comes to pick you up. That’s all. Good luck on your journey in becoming official shinobi of Konohagakure.”

Their now former sensei left the classroom, leaving the excited newly formed teams to get together and talk excitedly about their jounin senseis. Eventually…

“Yosh! Team Nine with me!” Gai yelled from the door. “I shall endeavour to be the best sensei I can be towards you three or else I shall…”

They eventually got far enough that even Gai’s voice could no longer be heard. Soon, jounin after jounin came to pick up their teams until eventually, there were only three genin left waiting.

“He’s going to be late, isn’t he?” Rin sighed. “Sakura, your uncle’s his direct superior, you know anything about him that isn’t from the rumour mill?” She switched to English. _“Also, it might bring him out of hiding.”_

Kakashi was in fact, not late. He was hidden in the room under Genjutsu, observing his new charges. If Rin hadn’t pointed it out, having found him with a short activation of her Byakugan, neither Shirou nor Sakura would have noticed his presence.

“Well, oji-san said that he was among the strongest shinobi in the village,” Sakura said. “And that he was chronically late for most things but that’s because he spends that time at the Memorial Stone. His choice of literature that he reads in public is partially because he likes it and also to cultivate a certain perception of him. Also, he has issues, a lot of issues which isn’t surprising considering that he’s the only surviving member of his genin team.”

“Huh, someone’s been talking about me,” Kakashi said as he dropped the Genjutsu, knowing that he’d been found by the Hyuuga. “Rooftop in five minutes. Don’t be late!”

Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving the Genin behind in the classroom.

“Well, better get a move on then,” Shirou said. The three of them got out of their seats and jumped out of the window like proper little shinobis. Doors were for civilians and they mastered the tree climbing exercise a long time ago anyway.

*Line Break*

Kakashi was a bit surprised when the three came to the rooftop by walking on the side of the building. ‘So they already know the tree climbing exercise? Well, guess that’s one thing I won’t have to teach them.’

The three of them stood before their new sensei, unsure how to break the ice.

“So, how’s your tanto?” Shirou asked. “Any issues?”

Kakashi eye smiled at him. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”

Kakashi handed his weapon to the young blacksmith. Shirou held it in his hand, feeling it and used Structural Analysis on it. Hmm, it seemed Kakashi was adding to its history and faced a number of strong opponents with it, several on missions that were classified.

“You’ve been looking after it well,” Shirou said. “I can’t see any problems with it.”

“Mah, that lesson you gave me about sword maintenance and how it differs from kunai and shuriken sure helped,” Kakashi said. “Now, how about we introduce ourselves?”

“Why don’t you go first, sensei,” Rin said. “Give us an example.”

“Ok then,” Kakashi said. “My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes aren’t something you tell children about. My dislikes? Disloyalty to your teammates and village I suppose. My dream? Well at the moment is to see you all make it to jounin I suppose.”

“I guess I’ll go next,” Shirou said. “My name is Toko Shirou. My likes are my friends, Rin and Sakura, cooking and blacksmithing. My dislikes are those who are cruel to others for petty reasons. My dream? World peace.”

“World peace?” Kakashi said. “That’s a lofty dream. Also unlikely to happen.”

Shirou shrugged. “Doesn’t mean we can’t take the first steps towards achieving it. Even if we don’t live to see it, if our children and their children can live in a world without war, I’ll be satisfied.”

Rin and Sakura looked at Shirou. It had taken some doing, but they had managed to get him to see being a Hero of Justice, to save everyone, was just now possible. Saving everyone would mean saving the villains as well as the innocent, a contradiction of his ideals. So, they subtly shifted it towards something more realistic, world peace.

They also blushed slightly at him saying that they were among the things that he liked.

“Right, the blushing maiden on my left,” Kakashi said.

Rin glared at him for calling her that, even if it was technically true. “My name is Hyuuga Rin. My likes are researching, my sisters, Sakura and this idiot over there. My dislikes are interfering old men and not getting what I want. My dreams are to achieve my lifelong goal.”

“Which is?” Kakashi asked.

“My dream, obviously,” Rin said.

Kakashi merely eye smiled at her, annoying her. “Now, last one.”

“Hello, my name is Nara Sakura,” Sakura said. “My likes are my family, cooking and my friends. My dislikes are bugs. My dream is to have a family with the one I love.”

‘The boy who manages that will need to have balls of steel,’ Kakashi thought. Every jounin in the village knew just how protective Shikaku was of his precious little niece, not to mention the Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi clans treating her like a little princess. He wouldn’t be surprised if a few years from now, he’d see some poor boy being chased around the village by angry clansmen.

‘Or maybe not,’ Kakashi said as he noticed Sakura and Rin both subtly look towards the only boy on the team. Hmm, childhood best friend of two girls, one a spoilt rich heiress while the other a girl next door type. Caught in between a love triangle but none the wiser. ‘I have to tell Jiraiya-sama about this! This could be inspiration for his next novel! Just age them up a bit, and the story practically writes itself!’

“Sensei?” Sakura asked as Kakashi spaced out.

“Oh right,” Kakashi said, remembering the three genin he was supposed to teach. “Well, I guess we’re all introduced then. Now, time for our first mission tomorrow!”

“I was under the impression we would be training first,” Rin said.

“Oh, but it’s not just any mission,” Kakashi said. “It’s a survival exercise.”

“Survival exercise?” Sakura said.

“Let me tell you something,” Kakashi said cheerfully. “Of all the graduates this year, only 30% of you will graduate and be recognized as official shinobi. Those who fail will be sent back to the Academy for remedial training.”

Kakashi waited for the screams of horror and unfairness, only to receive deadpan looks in return.

Rin pointed to herself, “Hyuuga heiress.” She pointed at Sakura, “Jounin Commander’s niece.” Shirou, “Used to rent out rooms to many shinobi and currently has one Mitarashi Anko as his tenant.”

Kakashi visibly deflated. “You three are no fun.”

Sakura giggled. “Sorry sensei.”

“Maa, maa,” Kakashi said. “Well, meet me at Training Ground Three at nine in the morning. Don’t be late.” He turned to leave. “Oh, and I’d suggest you don’t have any breakfast. You’ll throw up.”

Kakashi vanished with a shunshin, leaving the three alone on the roof.”

“The nerve of that man,” Rin huffed. “He’s going to treat us like kids, isn’t he?”

“We are kids, nee-san,” Sakura pointed out. “I don’t think the Hokage read him in on our secret yet.”

“So, any of you know where Training Ground Three is?” Shirou asked.

“Come on,” Rin sighed. “Let’s go scout out the battlefield.”

*Line Break*

“So, Kakashi huh,” Shikaku said as he sat out on the patio with his niece, playing shogi with her. “Well, at least you’ll be in good hands when you go for your first mission out of the village.”

“Does he know about us?” Sakura asked, moving a piece.

“Not yet,” Shikaku said. “Depends if you pass tomorrow. If you pass, the Hokage will brief him on everything regarding you three. If you pass. No free passes even if you’re the heiress of a noble clan or the niece of your boss.”

“Do you think we’ll fail?” Sakura asked.

Shikaku snorted, thinking back on all of the previous teams Kakashi failed. “Unlikely. He’s failed about four teams that were assigned to him, but that was also partially because those teams weren’t ready themselves. You three should be fine.”

“Any tips on what kind of test he’ll give us tomorrow?” Sakura asked hopefully, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

Shikaku snorted. “Those doesn’t work on me anymore. And I won’t have any accusations of unfairness thrown my way. No, the three of you can handle whatever he throws your way, without my help.”

Sakura pouted. Ah well, maybe Rin and Shirou would have more luck in finding out what Kakashi’s test was.

“Checkmate,” Shikaku said. Sakura looked down at the game. Her uncle had won ten moves ago and was just playing along to spend more time with her. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Being a genin is a turning point in any young shinobi’s life,” he said. “I’m not sure how this compares to your past life, but it’s a milestone I won’t forget. Neither will your aunt and Shikamaru.”

“Thanks oji-san,” Sakura said, hugging him.

“Hey now,” Shikaku said. “Soon, you’ll be too busy going on missions to spend time with your uncle. I can already hear the grumbles at the reduction of baked goods from you.”

Sakura giggled. “Oh, I’m sure they’ll survive. It’ll do wonders for your waistline as well.”

Shikaku playfully glared at her. “Are you calling me fat?”

“Well, Yoshino-oba has mentioned you seemed a little pudgier lately,” Sakura said innocently.

“Cheeky brat,” Shikaku said, ruffling her hair.

*Line Break*

“Hatake Kakashi,” Hiashi said. “A strong jounin and a worthy sensei for you.”

Hiashi, Hizashi and their daughter and son respectively were in the same room. It was to discuss the teams and senseis that the new genin of the Hyuuga clan had been assigned.

“Maito Gai,” Hizashi said. “One of the strongest and a renowned Taijutsu master. One of the few who I believe can match your uncle and I in a pure Taijutsu match and win.”

“Your teams on the other hand…” Hiashi said. “I already know of your teammates, daughter. Neji’s on the other hand… Gai’s apprentice in all but name, and the daughter of a retired kunoichi and a civilian.”

“They are good friends and capable shinobi,” Neji said. “Even though Lee can be a little… odd.”

The twins held back a snort, maintaining their stoic Hyuuga demeanour. Anyone who synched with Gai on such a level was more than just odd.

“He is the dead last of your year,” Hiashi said. “Will he be a liability?”

“He had no skill in Ninjutsu or Genjutsu,” Hizashi said. “Taijutsu aside, it is only because of Gai’s interference that he passed. You and the Tendou girl will have to cover for his weakness.”

“Yes, uncle, father,” Neji said.

Hiashi’s eyes soften ever so slightly. “You two have a big day tomorrow. Go and rest.”

“Yes father/uncle,” the two said and left the room.

“Surprisingly formal for Rin,” Hizashi said once the two had left.

“I think it was more for your son’s sake,” Hiashi said. “Heaven knows that she wouldn’t be half as polite if it were just us.”

“Still, they grow up so fast,” Hizashi said nostalgically. “I remember holding Neji in my arms. He was so small…”

“I understand the feeling,” Hiashi said. “Next year, it will be Hinata then a few more until it is Hanabi’s turn.”

“We can only hope they have time to grow into themselves when the next war starts,” Hizashi sighed.

Hiashi said nothing. War was a matter of when, not if in this chaotic world of shinobi. A decade of peace… It made him wonder when the other shoe would drop, and they would have to put on the uniform again.

*Line Break*

“Do we have to do this?” Shirou grumbled as Anko dragged him to her favourite bar. “I’m not even off age yet.”

“Nonsense!” Anko said. “Wearing that forehead protector is practically a pass to damn near everything in this village. They can’t stop you from entering since you’re legally an adult now.”

He already had to endure Naruto’s enthusiastic response last week when he saw the forehead protector, declaring that he would for sure pass next year and beat him. Shirou merely smiled and nodded, then went on to forge the sword for Tenten. It was merely an ordinary sword with no special properties, aside from being unnaturally durable and sharp. No way was he making her a sword like the ones he and Rin kept locked up. Maybe in a few more years.

“So, the Princess and Sakura-chan are your teammates, can’t say I’m surprised,” Anko said. “But Kakashi as your sensei! That guy is going to have to teach for once! Ha!”

“What do you mean by that?” Shirou asked, walking with her, giving up any thought of escape. Anko was a good tracker and fast enough to catch him anyway. Besides, this was a good way for him to gather more intel. He might even find some shinobi who knew Kakashi personally in the bar.

“So far, he’s failed four teams via a combination of psychological warfare, mind games and sowing discord among the genin he was assigned,” Anko explained. “No way a freshly minted genin team can be expected to look underneath the underneath, as he so likes to say. So, expect that any test he gives you to not be as straightforward as you might think it is.”

The two made it to the bar. “Ah, The Rusty Kunai,” Anko said. “Best shinobi bar in the village.”

She kicked open the door and walked in like she owned the place.

“Shirou?” Sarutobi Asuma said in surprise, on a ‘not date’ with Kurenai. He recognized Shirou, the kid being the one who forged his trench knives. He also saw who was accompanying him. “Anko, why did you bring the kid here? Isn’t he a little young to be in here?”

Kurenai looked on disapprovingly. “Yes, he’s a little young to be drinking.”

“Ah, don’t be such prudes,” Anko said. “Kid here was just assigned his team and has Kakashi for a sensei. A drink or two never hurt anyone.”

“Kakashi? Well, if he passes you, it’ll be something alright,” Asuma said, drinking some beer. “So, who’s on your team kid?”

“The Hyuuga Princess and the Commander’s niece,” Anko answered for him. “Barkeep! Two beers!”

“Sure thing Anko,” the barkeeper said, not even questioning why there was a minor in the bar. He was a retired shinobi turned bar owner. He knew better than to question the eccentrics of shinobi.

“Shikaku-sama’s niece and Hyuuga-sama’s eldest daughter?” Kurenai said. “Those are some high-profile teammates.”

“I can see why Kakashi was given them,” Asuma said. “He’d be able to keep them safe when they take their first real mission. Not so sure about teaching though.”

“The kiddies can train themselves well enough,” Anko said. “I can’t wait for their test tomorrow! It’ll be glorious. Also, tell the princess to go for the book.”

“The book?” Shirou asked, looking up from his beer and pushing it away. He had a test tomorrow and he was not doing it hungover.

“Yes, the book,” Anko said sagely as Kurenai felt her eye twitch at Kakashi’s unsavoury habit. “It’s his weakness.”

“Well, okay then,” Shirou said as he gave Asuma his beer. “Anything you two are willing to tell me about him?”

“Well, since you’ve already given me your beer,” Asuma said. “He’ll probably show up later than the time he told you to meet. Two things you should know about that. He’s either at the Memorial Stone over at Training Ground Three or assessing you without any of you noticing him. Have the Hyuuga look around periodically, though Kakashi does know how to avoid their eyes.”

“Also, he probably won’t take you all too seriously,” Kurenai said. “I’ll be surprised if he takes out that sword of his or even shows you his Sharingan.”

“Maa, are you telling tales about me, Asuma, Kurenai?” Kakashi said, walking into the bar.

“He bribed me with beer,” Asuma replied, amused. “And shouldn’t you be preparing for testing your genin tomorrow? Kid, now’s the chance to get him so drunk that he’ll show up hungover tomorrow, or not show up at all.”

“Oh ha ha,” Kakashi said as the barkeeper slid him a cup and a bottle of sake. “And I’ll have you know I’m plenty prepared. So kid, you done gathering intel about me?”

“You don’t mind?” Shirou asked.

“If anything, it raises my opinion of you,” Kakashi said. “I suppose the other two are asking their parents about me too.”

“You wouldn’t be mistaken,” Shirou said, looking curiously at Kakashi’s face. He wondered what was underneath that mask. Kakashi will have to remove it to drink.

CRACK!

The others looked towards the bar where a male shinobi had too much to drink and fell asleep, cup falling to the ground, breaking.

They looked back to Kakashi, who was already pouring himself another drink.

“Sigh, foiled again,” Anko sighed. Asuma and Kurenai sighed as well. From the age of five, the mystery of what lay underneath Kakashi’s mask remained unsolved. It would seem to remain so for another day.

Shirou got up from his barstool. “I’m going back. Try not to get too drunk again, Anko-nee. Asuma-san, Kurenai-san, enjoy your date.”

The two spluttered, spilling out denials as Kakashi and Anko shared a laugh, as well as the other occupants of the bar.

*Line Break*

“Should we even be surprised?” Rin asked.

The three had arrived at Training Ground Three at nine in the morning sharp, only to find their sensei nowhere in sight.

“Well, have you tried using your Byakugan?” Shirou asked. “From what I gathered last night, he’s either at the Memorial Stone or stalking us.”

Rin did so, veins around her eyes bulging as she activated her clan’s prized Bloodline Limit.

“I don’t see anything in the training ground,” Rin said with a frown. “Sakura, you try.”

Sakura spread out her senses.

 **‘He’s here alright,’** BB told Sakura. **‘He’s observing us from a tree, eight o’ clock, 300 metres away.’**

“He’s here,” Sakura said. “BB said that he was observing us from over there.” She pointed at a tree, surprising Kakashi.

‘A sensor?’ Kakashi wondered. He had planned to watch them until for a while, then an hour at the Memorial Stone before showing up. He had even prepared to deal with the Hyuuga’s Byakugan. No one had told him the Nara was a sensor, not even the files on her mentioned that. Though it would make sense for Shikaku to want it to be kept secret.

“Oh sensei,” Rin called out in a sing-song voice. “We know you’re there. Why don’t you come out or do we have to make you?”

Kakashi remained silent, waiting to see what they would do.

“Fine, be that way,” Rin huffed. “Shirou, take down that tree!”

“On it,” Shirou said, tracing a bow and an arrow. He reinforced the arrow tip to its limit, turning it into an explosive arrow and shot the tree Sakura pointed out to him.

The arrow hit the tree right in the trunk just slightly off centre, blowing a chunk of it off.

“Timber!”

The tree fell as Kakashi got off it right as it crashed to the ground.

“Now that was just excessive,” Kakashi said. “Don’t you know we should be saving the environment, not destroying it?”

“We’re shinobi, we don’t give a damn,” Rin said. “Now, can we get this over with?”

“So eager for D-ranks?” Kakashi asked. “Very well then.”

Kakashi took out an alarm clock and placed it on the stump of a tree. “Okay, it’s set for noon. Today’s assignment is to take these two bells away from me by noon. Those who can’t do it will be tied to those training posts. That person will be disqualified for failing the mission and will return to the Academy for remedial training. You may use anything and everything, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, weapons, doesn’t matter. Come at me with the intent to kill. Any questions?”

“Come at you with the intent to kill?” Sakura asked. “Are you sure, Kakashi-sensei?”

“Maa, don’t look down on me,” Kakashi said. “I’m still a jounin. Also, don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because of who you are.”

“Oh, you’ll regret that,” Rin grinned as the three of them got ready.

“Ready?” Kakashi asked. “Start!”

**Honestly, not sure if this chapter was all that good or not. I wrote it because I felt like I had to write something, otherwise this story would get nowhere. Feel free to comment on how you think the fight will go.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Alas, I have not been blessed with the presence of Ereshkigal this time. Not even an SR to show for all the Saint Quartz I sunk into her banner. Oh well, that’s the gacha for you.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Betaed by Danga.**

* * *

Chapter 13

As soon as Kakashi yelled start, kunai and shuriken were thrown Kakashi’s way. Kakashi didn’t even bother dodging, picking one of the incoming kunai and using it to deflect the rest of the incoming projectiles. Not that any of the three expected that to work, merely using it as a distraction so that the real fight could begin.

Kakashi raised his hand to redirect a Gentle Fist strike, throwing her aside to block one of Shirou’s twin swords with a kunai. “Nice swords you have there. Did you get them from the same place you got your bow and arrow earlier?”

Shirou didn’t answer, merely swinging the other sword at Kakashi’s abdomen. Kakashi took out another kunai and blocked it as well.

“Not going to take it out?” Shirou asked as he broke off the engagement. “It’ll be a shame if I didn’t get to see it in action after all the work I put into restoring it.”

What he didn’t say was that he’d be able to better fight Kakashi if he knew all his moves before Kakashi used them. His ability to read the history of the sword worked to his advantage there, though Shirou believed that there was enough of a gap between their strength that he would at best only be able to match him.

“Maa, maa, that would be overkill.” Kakashi eye smiled. He then proceeded to jump back as Sakura’s shadow extended to trap him in her clan’s signature technique.

Kakashi landed, right where an annoyed Rin’s fist came to deck him out. Kakashi leaned away from the punch, ducking and weaving away from Rin as she laid it out on him. ‘Hmm, she’s rather proficient in her clan’s Taijutsu. Though it seems as if this isn’t her preferred way to fight.’

“Stay still!” Rin yelled in frustration as she tried to lay a hit on him. Even one would be debilitating with the Gentle Fist’s ability to seal chakra coils. Not that Kakashi would let her.

“I’d rather keep my chakra,” Kakashi said cheerfully, before Rin’s fist collided with his stomach. Only for ‘Kakashi’ to poof away, leaving behind a broken log.

“Why are there so many perfectly shaped logs around Konoha anyway?” Rin wondered as she regrouped with Shirou and Sakura. They looked around, searching for Kakashi. One with her eyes while the other with her six sense.

Kakashi jumped out of his hiding spot in a shrub as several shadow tendrils slammed into it, followed by several kunai.

“Nice try, but you can’t hide from us, sensei,” Sakura said.

“Maa, that does seem a little pointless,” Kakashi said. “A sensor and a Hyuuga… Stealth does seem to be irrelevant with you two around.”

“How are we supposed to pass when there are only two bells?” Shirou asked, watching his sensei warily. “Even if we did get them, one of us would have to be left out.”

“Well, that way, one of you is guaranteed to be tied to that post,” Kakashi said. “So, now that the warm-up is over, why don’t we take this up a notch?”

“Fall back and regroup,” Shirou said as he traced his bow and several arrows. “We need a plan.”

Kakashi deflected the arrows Shirou shot at him with his kunai, avoiding them easily even without using his Sharingan. It did give them the opening they needed to get away from him.

“Interesting,” Kakashi said as he looked at the now empty clearing. The three of them had given him more trouble than most experienced chunin had. Already, he had to take the fight more seriously than he did for his last few genin teams.

‘Not to mention Shirou’s ability to materialize weapons and Sakura being so advanced with her clan’s technique, though she seems to display abilities that I’ve never seen used by the Nara’s before’ Kakashi thought to himself. ‘Did she create them on her own? Rin’s Taijutsu was excellent, as expected from a Hyuuga. But she’s just not fast enough to lay a hit on me. I have to be careful. Something tells me they haven’t shown me all their tricks.’

* * *

“Well… that was impressive,” Asuma said.

He and Kurenai were watching Kakashi’s genin team fight him after Anko all but dragged them to watch it with her. They were about a kilometre or so away, watching the fight with binoculars.

“I know right?” Anko said. “Mark my words, those three will do something that will embarrass Kakashi sooner or later.”

“I don’t know,” Kurenai said. “It’s Kakashi.”

“And he’s not taking this fight anywhere as seriously as he would if he knew just what he was up against,” Anko said. “What’s your take on this, Gai?”

Gai, who had just finished testing his team earlier that morning and brought them along to watch their former classmates test, gave his comment.

“Yosh! Their Youth shines brightly against my Eternal Rival!” Gai said. “However, Kakashi’s hip and cool attitude is not so easily overcome!”

“I believe Rin, Sakura and Shirou can win, Gai-sensei!” Lee said.

“And they just might be able to,” Asuma said, easily understanding the Youth speak after years of repeated exposure. “They don’t need to beat him to win, just get his bells. Not that that’s any easier.”

“Is Kakashi really that powerful?” Tenten asked. “He didn’t seem like much to me, he hasn’t even drawn that sword of his yet.” She remembered the weird shinobi when he would come to her family’s shop, and she vividly remembered that day when Shirou presented the man his father’s restored sword. However, aside from that, her knowledge of the shinobi known as Hatake Kakashi was minimal.

“My father and uncle say he’s one of the strongest jounin in the village, if not the strongest after Itachi,” Neji said, watching the fight with his Byakugan. “In fact, they believe a fight between the two could very much end in a draw.”

“Hatake Kakashi,” Kurenai said. “Graduated the Academy at age 5, promoted to chunin at age 6 and jounin at age 12. He was taught by the Yondaime, fought in the Third Shinobi World War and has since then only become even stronger. He’s completed over a thousand missions, half of which are classified. He’s quite literally the strongest shinobi of our generation.”

“Whoa…” the genin said.

“Hmm, looks like they’re about to get back in the fight,” Anko said, making the others turned their eyes back to Training Ground Three.

* * *

“You know,” Kakashi said as he jumped over a fissure in the earth from Rin’s Earth Release Ninjutsu. “There are D-ranks for fixing training grounds. Guess who’s going to get them?”

“Shut up,” Rin mumbled as Kakashi dodged, again. “Shirou, now!”

“Trace on.” An even dozen of nameless swords came into existence. “Continuous fire!”

The dozen swords fired towards Kakashi at high speeds. Kakashi’s sole eye widened before he replaced himself with yet another log. Said log resembled a pin cushion after several of the swords hit it, destroying it.

‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have told them to come at me with the intention to kill…’ Kakashi thought as he looked at the shattered log.

From behind him, several shadow giants rushed towards him. Kakashi wasted no time in ducking under a clumsy swing by the dark giant, before swiping at it with his kunai.

‘Ok, that didn’t do as much as I thought it would.’ Kakashi looked at the small cut he inflicted on the shadow giant closing. ‘I might have to get serious… Or target the summoner. But since when could Nara’s do that?’

Sakura dodged from a thrown kunai by Kakashi. ‘How did he find me!?’

**‘He’s a jounin,’** BB said. **‘And he probably didn’t get that rank just because Konoha needed to fill the ranks.’**

‘Right… jounin at age 12. You’d think that was why he was promoted so young in the first place.’

Kakashi rushed towards her, dodging shadow giants and tendrils only to have to leap away from a fireball sent towards him by Rin and several arrows from Shirou.

“Well, at least you three have teamwork down,” Kakashi said as Shirou and Rin stood next to Sakura. “Perhaps it’s time I get just a little more serious.”

Rin cursed as she saw Kakashi make hand seals in rapid succession.

“Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!”

A giant dragon of water was spat out by Kakashi and headed towards the three.

Rin quickly made several hand seals of her own.

“Earth Release: Mud Wall!”

A wall of mud three times her height and as thick as she was emerged from the ground, taking the brunt of the water dragon. However, the wall soon crumbled under the strength of the jutsu, breaking up.

“And.. they’re gone again,” Kakashi sighed upon seeing no one behind the destroyed earth wall.

Kakashi quickly turned around and blocked Kanshou as Shirou tried to attack him from behind. His other hand went to block Bakuya with another kunai. Rin soon joined Shirou in the melee. They tag teamed Kakashi, not enough to truly worry him, but enough to impress him greatly with how in sync they were working together.

Avoiding Rin’s fists and Shirou’s swords was no easy matter, especially with how well the two fought together, but Kakashi managed. This was hardly the first time he had to fight a Hyuuga or a swordsman, but it was the first that he fought both at the same time. It was an interesting experience.

Every time he moved away from Rin’s fists, he would have to deflect sword swings from Shirou, which Rin then took advantage of to try and hit him. It was a continuous cycle that left him no chance to counterattack so long as he kept himself to chunnin levels of strength and speed.

In truth, Kakashi knew he could end this in seconds, prodigies or not. However, he was here to test them, not crush them. So far, he liked what he saw. ‘Lots of potential, good mental health and excellent work ethics. It’s like looking at what I could have been with a better childhood.’

Rin and Shirou broke off as a shadow reached out for Kakashi. Kakashi was no slouch however, and easily evaded the attempt by Sakura to ensnare him in her shadow.

“You know, I’m starting to see a pattern,” Kakashi said. “You two engage me in a melee, hoping to create an opening for the Nara to catch me. A bit repetitive and uninspired, but not too bad for genin.”

“Well, if it works, it works,” Sakura shrugged.

“Too bad it isn’t,” Kakashi said. “You’d have to try harder to get the bells. The clock’s ticking.”

It was at this moment that Kakashi decided he’d have to go on the offensive. First, he had to separate them. Time to assess them individually.

Tiger. Ox. Dog. Rabbit. Snake.

“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!”

Kakashi blew out a huge gust of wind that caught the three by surprise, blowing them throughout the training ground. No longer together, Kakashi could now fight them one at a time.

“Time to hunt,” Kakashi said as he disappeared.

* * *

“Someone’s getting serious,” Anko said as the leaves around her fluttered in the wind. Kakashi’s jutsu was so powerful that even as far away as they were, it’s effects could still be felt.

“So, this is what it means to be a jounin,” Neji commented.

“You wish, kid,” Asuma said, frowning at his now finished cigarette. “Kakashi at most is treating them like a well-coordinated chunin team. Good, but not quite enough to treat them like a legitimate threat.”

“Maybe enough to make Kurenai work for a victory,” Anko said. “But she’s a Genjutsu specialist. If she has to fight at close range, somethings gone wrong.”

Kurenai didn’t refute that. It was true after all.

“Where are they?” Tenten asked, putting down her binoculars. “I can’t see them anywhere.”

Neji frowned and focused his vision. “They have been blown throughout the training ground. And Kakashi is now hunting them.”

“Ah, so my rival is on the hunt,” Gai said. “This shall not be enjoyable for them.”

“It’ll be a good learning experience,” Anko said. “Teach them that they’re not the biggest fish in the pond that’s Konoha, let alone the ocean that’s the shinobi world.”

“Doesn’t this seem a little harsh?” Kurenai asked, frowning. “They are just genin after all.”

“Prodigy genin,” Asuma said. “They’re used to being the best. Having that notion beaten out of them will be good for their life expectancy. I mean, just think about how many so-called geniuses we knew that didn’t live past twenty?”

The jounin there frowned, remembering fallen comrades that died due to their own arrogance. It wasn’t that common, jounin sensei’s making sure that they knew not to underestimate their enemies, but it happened.

“Gai-sensei, you didn’t test us like this earlier,” Lee said.

“Ah, well every sensei has a different way of testing,” Gai said. “It really depends on what the sensei in question values above all else. For example, I value determination. The three of you didn’t give up despite my challenge that you would be sent back to the Academy if you could not lay a hand on me. Even after you were defeated, you were determined to try again next time. That was enough to show me the power of your youth!”

Lee was teary eyed. “Gai-sensei!”

“Lee!”

“Gai-sensei!”

Anko slapped the two over their heads. “Back to Kakashi’s test you idiots!”

“Ah, sorry, Anko-san,” Gai said. “Anyway, my rival believes that teamwork is the most important thing any shinobi must have, hence why he said that only two of them could pass, to test how they would react to the knowledge that they must abandon a comrade. As you can see, they’ve demonstrated remarkable teamwork and coordination by attacking Kakashi as a team.”

“So, they’ve already passed?” Tenten asked.

“Looks like it,” Asuma said. “Doesn’t mean the test is over yet though.”

“I wonder how much of the training ground will remain standing after all this,” Kurenai wondered.

“Well, perhaps it shall be a most excellent D-rank to use as training,” Gai said.

The two sane members of the newly minted Team Nine felt a chill down their spines.

‘Damn you Team Kakashi!’

Except for Lee, who like his sensei, thought it would be a wonderful way to train.

* * *

“Make a note to have a D-rank prepared for the restoration of Training Ground Three,” Hiruzen told his secretary.

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” his secretary said, immediately going to write down a mission detailing just that.

He had Shikaku and Hiashi join him in his office to watch the fight. Well, officially Hiashi was here to talk to him regarding his clan’s business dealings out of the village, but that was a paper-thin excuse and everyone knew it. No doubt, he wanted to make use of the better details his crystal ball could show of the fight. Wouldn’t do to have his daughter call him out on watching her test now, would it?

Shikaku didn’t even bother trying to come up with one, just showing up at exactly nine and sat his lazy ass on his sofa, waiting for the fight to start.

Hiruzen sighed. “Was it too much to ask for an intact training ground after testing them?”

He went back to watching the fight from his crystal ball. Hmm, he wondered how they would fare one on one against Kakashi. Would they stop holding back?

* * *

Shirou was worried. It had been five minutes since he had been separated from Rin and Sakura, and already they were being singled out.

“Note to self, invest in teamwide communications,” Shirou mumbled. “Tech, Fuinjutsu or magecraft, as long as we can keep in touch with one another.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea!” Kakashi’s all too chipper voice sounded out, instantly putting Shirou on edge. He looked around, not seeing a trace of his sensei.

All he saw were trees and plant life, something any good Konoha shinobi knew how to hide in. No doubt, his sensei was a master in the art.

Perhaps it was instinct, intuition or years of experience, but Shirou’s senses screamed at him that danger was coming from the right. In an instant, sparks flew as Shirou’s Kanshou and Bakuya clashed against Kakashi’s White Light Chakra Sabre.

“Shinobi tactics lesson one, Bukijutsu,” Kakashi said, his lone exposed eye locked onto Shirou’s. “You wanted to see what I could do with this sword. Well, let me show you!”

The two swordsmen held the blade lock for a second, before separating and resuming the clash. Their hands were in a flurry of motion as sparks flew. Kakashi’s blade trailing white light with each swing while Shirou’s were a flurry of white and black, resembling Yin and Yang.

Shirou read the history of the White Light Chakra Sabre, seeing every swing, thrust and parry ever made by it. The moment it broke, the moment it was re-forged and all the skills of the swordsmen who had wielded it in battle, Shirou saw it all. That fact alone allowed him to keep up with his sensei, however briefly.

Eventually, Kakashi managed to disarm Shirou of Kanshou, sending it flying, or so he thought. Shirou continued fighting with only Bakuya in hand, slowly but surely being pushed back by Kakashi’s superior strength and speed.

Kakashi ducked his head down as Kanshou came spinning back towards Shirou, the blade returning to Shirou’s hand.

“Well that was interesting, if not unheard of,” Kakashi said. It wasn’t unusual for shinobi to have their weapons returned to them, either via strings attached to the weapons or other techniques. He couldn’t quite tell how Shirou did it though. “Tell me, do you know how to channel elemental chakra through your weapon?”

Kakashi’s sword was instantly covered in Lightning Release Chakra, the blade crackling in the otherwise quiet clearing. He charged at Shirou, sabre coming down at him as Shirou raised his twin blades to block it.

CRACK!!!

Kanshou and Bakuya cracked under Kakashi’s lightning enhanced sword, eventually destroying both blades.

Shirou jumped back, tracing replacements immediately.

“Now that’s just unfair,” Kakashi said. “People who are disarmed should stay that way.”

“Since when did shinobi play fair?” Shirou shot back.

“Good point.” Kakashi smiled at him. “Well, we’ve established that I’m the better swordsman. What now?”

Shirou thought about his options. None of the more destructive or costly Noble Phantasms, this was just a test after all. Gae Bolg? No, he didn’t want to kill his sensei just a day after meeting him. Caladbolg? The village would probably not be pleased with having to replace a training ground.

‘What about…” Shirou found something that just might give him an edge against his sensei.

“I am the bone of my sword.”

Kakashi’s eyebrow raised as the swords in Shirou’s hand disappeared and was replaced with a bow and… arrow.

Said arrow was a pitch-black weapon with a few small edges coiling around the thin core, spiralling around it and somewhat curving outward. It resembled a sword more than it did an arrow.

Shirou notched the arrow and fired it at Kakashi.

Hrunting: Hound of the Red Plains. Once fired, it would continuously seek the target until it found its mark. So long as Shirou didn’t turn it into a Broken Phantasm, Kakashi should survive it. Maybe.

Kakashi instinctively knew that the arrow was bad news and quickly put as much distance between them as possible. He parried, dodged and just tried to keep himself from getting impaled by the oversized arrow.

First pass, Kakashi eventually moved away from the arrow, allowing it to fly past him.

The arrow turned mid-air, swinging around to target Kakashi again.

Second pass, Kakashi was quick to respond and parried it away, now keeping his attention on both the ‘arrow’ and Shirou.

Third pass, Kakashi took out a kunai to block arrows shot at him by Shirou while his sword redirected Hrunting away from him. Kakashi hid a wince as the ‘arrow’ was accelerating, each pass coming for him at higher speeds.

Fourth pass, Kakashi made sure to redirect Hrunting into a tree, only for the ‘arrow’ to go through it and head for him again.

No matter what he did, the arrow would just turn around and come after him again. Like a hunting hound after its prey, with the prey being Kakashi. Shirou occasionally took potshots at Kakashi, keeping him busy trying to fend off attacks from multiple directions.

‘What is this? A Kakashi seeking missile?’

At the very last second, Kakashi replaced himself with a rock, the arrow unable to go through it and detonating with the force of several explosive tags, sending rock fragments everywhere. Trees either fell or had many holes put through them as rock fragments flew about like shrapnel from a hand grenade.

Shirou searched for Kakashi, having been far enough that none of the shrapnel came even close to him. He found his sensei, far away enough and hidden by enough trees that he didn’t have a clear shot at him.

Kakashi looked at the devastation from afar with a sweat drop. ‘I really shouldn’t have told them to come after me with the intention to kill.’

Time to seek his other students. Hopefully, the Hyuuga would be less destructive.

Shirou noticed that Kakashi was headed for the general direction of where Rin had been blown to. ‘Hopefully, Rin won’t unleash some of her nastier stuff on him. Now, where’s Sakura?’

* * *

“Since when could he do that!?” Neji exclaimed.

“Did that arrow follow Kakashi?” Kurenai said.

“It did,” Gai said. “It changed directions multiple times and only seemed to gain speed while doing so.”

“Almost like a hunting hound,” Anko said.

“That’s impossible,” Asuma said. “Was it some kind of jutsu? I didn’t see him making any hand seals.”

“It’s his own unique brand of Ninjutsu,” Anko said, giving the official explanation for Shirou’s abilities. “It’s really something, isn’t it?”

“He’s been holding out on me,” Tenten pouted. “Why didn’t he make me a sword like that?”

“Considering Kiri’s record when it comes to their Seven Swordsmen, I can’t blame him,” Asuma said.

“What do you mean, Asuma-san?” Lee asked. “And who are the Seven Swordsmen you referred to?”

“The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was an organisation consisting of only the greatest blade-wielding shinobi of their generation that Kirigakure can produce,” Kurenai explained. “There can only be seven members at a time — hence the name. The swords of the Seven Swordsmen were passed down from generation to generation since the First Mizukage's era. They're considered mystical blades, and together, the Seven Swordsmen were capable of bringing down an entire nation, regarded as being the strongest shinobi in the village behind the Mizukage.”

“My father fought them,” Gai said with a frown. “All seven of them at once. Four of them were killed by him before he died.”

Gai remembered that day well, considering his father died fighting them to protect him and his teammates. It was one of the many defining moments of his life that made him what he was now.

“Shame he never got as much recognition for it as he deserved,” Anko said. “Anyway, over the years, the wielders of those swords either died or turned traitor, taking their swords with them during the start of their bloody civil war. As far as we know, only one sword, Hiramekarei remains in Kiri’s hands.”

“What does that have to do with him giving me a normal sword?” Tenten asked.

“Well, for the most part, they were over reliant on their swords,” Asuma said. “Without them, most of them were barely jounin level. With the bloodline purges and the loss of those swords, even when their civil war ends, Kiri will never be as strong as it once was.”

“You seem to know a lot about other village’s, Asuma-san,” Lee said.

“Well, when you’re a jounin, you need to know these things,” Asuma said. “Keeping up to date with current issues is a job requirement.”

“So, before you ask him for a better sword, I believe it is best if you master using a regular one first, my student,” Gai said.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right, sensei,” Tenten said.

“Kakashi’s found another one of them,” Neji said, bringing their eyes back to the fight. “And it’s Rin-sama!”

* * *

Rin didn’t even bother to pretend she didn’t see her sensei coming. Not after seeing and hearing the giant explosion that could only come from Shirou using one of his Noble Phantasms on their sensei, she knew that either she or Sakura was next.

“Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!”

Kakashi leaped away as the ground beneath him erupted into several giant spikes in order to skewer him.

Rin was undeterred and merely used one of her chakra jewels to power up another jutsu.

“Water Release: Droplet Spear!”

Several orbs of water crashed down on where Kakashi was, drenching the area with water.

“Maa, maa, violent one, aren’t you?” Kakashi said as he reappeared a few metres in front of Rin. A Hyuuga who likes to use Ninjutsu? What next, a Nara who liked housework?

* * *

Sakura sneezed, before going back to making her way towards where her teammates were, which was probably where all the explosions were happening.

* * *

“Die!” Rin yelled.

“I’d rather not,” Kakashi shot back. “Alright, shinobi tactics lesson 2. Ninjutsu!”

Kakashi’s hands blurred into a series of hand seals faster than Rin could follow, ending with a tiger seal.

“Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!”

Kakashi spat out fire from his mouth, the fire forming into the shape of a dragon before flying towards Rin at high speeds.

Rin leaped away from the fire dragon, only for Kakashi to complete a second set of hand seals.

“Wind Release: Air Bullet!”

A great gust of compressed wind slammed into Kakashi’s earlier fire dragon, redirecting it towards where Rin was now and greatly increasing its speed.

‘Crap, no time to form hand seals!’ Rin quickly grabbed one of her magecraft jewels and slammed it to the ground.

A great big explosion erupted from where the wind enhanced fire dragon struck. Smoke blanketed the area, obscuring vision as Kakashi surveyed the damage.

‘She didn’t dodge…’ Kakashi was actually a bit worried that he had accidentally deep fried the Hyuuga heiress. Only a bit though. These kids had already shown that they were far from ordinary genin.

“YOU COULD’VE KILLED ME!!!”

“Maa, you survived, didn’t you?” Kakashi replied as the smoke dispersed, revealing a very irritated Rin who had the edges of her clothes singed. Around her, was a red protective barrier that was being emitted from a Ruby in the centre. “Interesting barrier you have there.”

Rin gave him the Look. The Look that many a Hyuuga had learned to fear ever since Rin had begun her first steps. It was the Look the White-Eyed Witch gave you when she was royally pissed off at you.

She took out a green jewel and clenched it in her fist, making Kakashi feel something he never thought he’d feel from a genin.

Dread.

* * *

“Oh dear,” Hiashi couldn’t help but say. “I hope Hatake-san can handle a few weeks in the hospital.”

Shikaku snorted in amusement. “He pissed her off something real fierce, didn’t he?”

“Am I even going to have a training ground left after all this?” Hiruzen asked. “Even my test against Jiraiya-kun, Orochimaru and Tsunade-chan didn’t result in this much damage.”

“To be fair, that was before they became the monsters they are today,” Shikaku said before turning to Hiashi. “You didn’t seem particularly worried when Rin didn’t dodge.”

“I trust she knows how to handle herself in a dangerous situation,” Hiashi said. “Besides, Hatake-san should be the one we should be worrying about.”

“The hospital staff isn’t going to be pleased,” Hiruzen muttered. In fact, the hospital staff despised Kakashi, considering that he was the worst patient possible, always escaping mandatory bed rest and not giving a damn about doctor’s orders.

Especially that one time he kept swapping places with the doctor. Damn near had the entire hospital in revolt. Ah if only Tsunade-chan was here and in charge, then this headache would be her problem, not his.

“It’s half past ten,” Shikaku noted. “Just my little girl left and then they’d regroup and hand Kakashi’s ass on a silver platter.”

“He’d have to escape my daughter’s wrath first,” Hiashi mused.

Hiruzen sighed. “Have that mission to clear up Training Ground Three upgraded to a C-rank. Whoever gets it is going to have a lot of work on their hands.”

* * *

“GET BACK HERE AND TAKE YOUR PUNISHMENT LIKE A MAN!!!”

“Hell no! I like my skin the way it is!”

Kakashi ducked under a particularly nasty rotting curse, which struck a tree. Instantly, the tree’s leaves turned a sickly yellow and shrivelled, the bark peeling off and the grass around the tree turning a dry yellow. He did not want to find out what that unknown jutsu did to humans!

Paling, Kakashi quickly came up with a plan to get out of there alive. He sure as hell hoped that none of his friends were watching as he replaced himself with a Lightning Release: Shadow Clone.

Rin’s eye twitched as she saw the ‘Kakashi’ she hit turn into electricity, stunning her for a moment while her Byakugan showed the real Kakashi far, far away.

* * *

“ARGHHHHH!!!”

“Rin-chan is scary,” Lee shivered.

“You just realized that?” Neji asked.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so mad,” Tenten muttered.

“She’s going to be a handful, I can just tell,” Asuma said. “Poor Kakashi, having a spitfire of a kunoichi to teach.”

“Yosh! I am sure my rival will prevail and turn them into the most splendid shinobi!” Gai said.

“Oh, that was never in doubt,” Kurenai said. “It’s rather if he keeps what passes for his sanity in the process.”

“He’s already got a head full of grey hair,” Anko snickered. “We won’t notice the difference.”

“… Did Rin just destroy a tree with one punch?” Tenten asked as she saw a tree collapse while Rin gave another cry of frustration at having the scarecrow escape her wrath.

“You wouldn’t expect it with how thin her arms are, but she’s crazy strong,” Neji said. “Uncle and father are the only ones left in the clan who can give her a challenge.”

“They never showed us this back in the Academy,” Lee said.

“That would’ve been overkill,” Anko said. “Besides, now that they’re genin, they’ve decided to stop holding back, even if by just a little.”

“Now I wonder what Sakura has up her sleeve,” Tenten said. “She’s a Nara, whatever she’s going to show us can’t be all that impressive, right?”

Anko chuckled. Oh you sweet summer child.

* * *

“Oh sensei, I know you’re here!”

Kakashi grimaced from where he was hidden. After barely escaping with his life from the witch, here he was now, stalking his Commander’s niece, and didn’t that sound weird? Hopefully, she wouldn’t display any weird abilities like the other two had.

Sure, he could’ve used his Sharingan and ended the fight pretty quickly, but if word got out that he had to resort to it to deal with genin, his rep would never recover.

Sakura looked around, stretching out her senses to find her sensei. She took out a kunai and prepared for whatever her sensei had in store for her. Hearing a bush rattle, she threw the kunai at it, only to hit nothing.

“Shinobi Tactics Lesson 3.” Kakashi suddenly appeared behind her, making her turn and look him in the eye. “Genjutsu.”

“Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!”

Kakashi disappeared from Sakura’s view, and suddenly she was back in Matou Manor.

“Did you really think you could escape?” Zouken mocked as worms and his other insect familiars swarmed around her. “Your friends? Oh, they put up a good fight, but in the end they were just more food to sustain my existence.”

**“S#k($@! Sn@p * &# *$ #t!”**

Sakura took a step back. “This isn’t real. It’s just a Genjutsu.”

“Oh, is it?” Shinji appeared. “Now let’s go to my room and fulfil our duties.”

“This isn’t real. It’s just a Genjutsu.”

**“W@k% UP!”**

“Pathetic! Useless!” Zouken walked towards her, the sound of his walking stick tapping the ground. “I’ll make sure to break you more thoroughly this time!”

**“ENOUGH!!!”**

The illusion fell apart as Sakura gasped for breath. She was back at Training Ground Three, surrounded by trees and nature… and she was standing in the middle of a large circle made of shadows.

“What did that show you?” Kakashi asked in worry. He had leaped away the moment he sensed something was wrong, barely avoiding getting trapped in the shadows. The Hell Viewing Technique was pretty tame as far as Genjutsu went, playing on the victim’s fears. Though D-rank, it could have devastating impact depending on what exactly the victim feared.

Sakura closed her eyes and breathed. When she opened them again, they were crimson and Kakashi could make out several markings appearing on her face. However, just as quickly as they appeared, they receded.

Sakura glared at her sensei with her purple eyes, reminding him of a certain someone’s mother who also had purple eyes. It was honestly quite frightful to watch this twelve-year old child channel the Red Hot Habanero.

BB had asked if Sakura wanted her to handle this, but Sakura declined. BB had a tendency to go overboard and she knew her sensei hadn’t meant to bring those memories back up. It was the result of a Genjutsu playing with her mind. She’ll have to work on that. Can’t have a simple Genjutsu paralyzing her in battle when it actually mattered.

Shadow tendrils and giants came out from the circle of shadow Sakura was standing in, forcing Kakashi to back off. Taking out his sword, Kakashi swung it at a shadow giant, slicing it in half. But there were many more of them, not to mention the shadow tendrils coming in from all sides.

Kakashi retreated, realizing that there was only an hour left before the test ended. ‘What an interesting team I have here. If I wasn’t, well, me, I’d be dead.’

‘Kakashi’ was caught by several shadow tendrils, then poof. Kakashi had replaced himself with yet another log that was soon crushed under the shadow tendrils.

**‘And he’s gone again,’** BB sighed.

‘Let’s regroup with the others,’ Sakura said, feeling mentally exhausted from having to see those memories again. ‘Come up with one last ditch plan to beat him.’

**‘They shouldn’t be too hard to find,’** BB mused. **‘Just head in the general direction of where the explosions were.’**

* * *

“So…” Shirou looked at his two teammates. “Did any of you manage to lay a finger on him?”

Rin grumbled. “Stupid sensei. Dodging all my jutsu and spells.”

“Mine didn’t last too long,” Sakura said. “He put me under a Genjutsu, I broke out, he avoided all my shadows and here we are.”

“He’s a better swordsman than me,” Shirou said. “He actually broke Kanshou and Bakuya.”

“I thought your projections didn’t break so easily anymore?” Rin asked. “And he actually broke them!?”

“They don’t,” Shirou said. “They’re as good as Archer’s were. Sensei channelled Lightning Chakra through his sword and managed to crack them both.”

“Well, that’s impressive,” Rin said. “We still have to get the bells. Any ideas?”

“Well…” Sakura had a mischievous look on her face, something that was quite rare as far as Rin and Shirou were concerned. “Remember when you told us about his… literature choices?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Shirou said, wondering where this was going.

Sakura beckoned them closer as she started telling them what her plan was.

“That’s positively evil!” Rin declared. “I love it!”

“I’m surprised he didn’t notice,” Shirou said. “But this might just work, if they weren’t exaggerating about his love for it.”

The three of them laid out the plan to beat their sensei. They would pass, no matter what it took!

* * *

Kakashi was patiently waiting back where they first met on the training ground, looking as if he was bored out of his mind when in reality, he was anything but. Though physically untouched, it was honestly a close-run thing as Kakashi had a feeling that if he didn’t separate them, they would have forced him to get serious quite quickly. Under the guise of reading his book, he thought about his fights with his three soon to be students.

‘That should teach me to underestimate prodigies said to surpass both me and Itachi. All three display abilities that bear no resemblance to any known form of Ninjutsu. They aren’t forbidden clan techniques, otherwise they wouldn’t be throwing them out like kunai. Creating weapons out of thin air, techniques that don’t seem to be chakra based, shadow monsters… I really am looking forward to that briefing Hokage-sama’s going to give me later.’

Kakashi looked up and put his book back in his pouch. ‘Oh, they’re here? Well, back to work.’

The ground beneath Kakashi erupted as Rin popped out behind him. Without even looking, Kakashi ducked down, avoiding her spinning kick. Grabbing her foot, he threw her away. Rin corrected herself mid-air and landed on her feet, facing him in a Gentle Fist stance.

Kakashi was just beginning to wonder where the other two were before he felt his body freezing up.

‘The hole!’ Kakashi realized, as out from the hole Rin popped out from, a shadow was extended from it, connecting with his own to catch him in the Nara’s Shadow Possession Jutsu.

“You do realize that I’m strong enough to break out of this.”

Rin grinned. It was never their intention to hold him for that long, already, Sakura couldn’t even move Kakashi’s arm as he fought back against her control. Kakashi easily kept Sakura from making him reach for the bells, but that was fine with her. It would have been nice for him to hand over the bells to them himself, but they didn’t count on it.

An arrow flew through the air, cutting the strings holding the two bells there. A tiny shadow familiar popped out from Kakashi’s shadow to grab them and made its way to Rin.

Kakashi felt Sakura’s hold on him release and sighed. He saw the other two join Rin in front of him. “Well, you’ve got the bells, with plenty of time to spare. Now, which one of you is going back to the Academy?”

“How about a counter deal?” Shirou suggested.

“Oh?” Kakashi felt his eye widened as he saw Sakura holding up a familiar looking orange book. Opening his back pouch, he found it empty.

* * *

*Flashback*

Kakashi was dodging the shadow tendrils and giants sent his way by the purple-haired Nara, not noticing that a tiny shadow familiar had reached into his back pouch and made off with his book.

* * *

“What are you planning on doing with that?” Kakashi asked warily. What did they plan to do to his precious.

Rin held up a finger and made a small fire appear from the tip. “Oh, I’m sure it’ll make good kindling. If you don’t pass all of us, say goodbye to your book.”

“Maa, there are always more books,” Kakashi said, hoping to bluff his way out of this. “What makes you think that one is so important to me?”

“It’s a limited-edition copy of Icha Icha Paradise, with the author's signature as well as various extra scenes,” Sakura said. “Also, the laughter coming from Anko is also a pretty obvious sign that she finds this hilarious.”

Kakashi glared at Anko’s general direction, already knowing that this was going to spread to the shinobi rumour mill in no time.

“Fine, you all pass. Now give me back my book!”

Sakura tossed the book back to Kakashi, who immediately hugged it to his chest. “There, there. The bad children can’t hurt you now.”

The three sweat-dropped at his antic. This was their new sensei?

Kakashi kept the book and recomposed himself. “Anyway, did the three of you find out the hidden meaning of this test?”

“Hidden meaning?” Shirou asked.

“Yes,” Kakashi said. “A shinobi always has to look underneath the underneath, find the truth hidden beneath what seems obvious on the surface.”

The three thought about it.

“Teamwork?” Sakura said. “You tried to sow discord among us by saying you would only pass two of us, but that wasn’t true, was it?”

“Perceptive, aren’t you?” Kakashi sighed. “As expected of a Nara. In fact, this is the first time anyone’s passed my test on the first try.”

“First try?’ Shirou asked.

“Well, normally I just play around with my students until the times up, then tie up the most annoying one to that post and make the others eat lunch while I forbid him from having any,” Kakashi explained. “Then, I go off somewhere and wait and see if they care about their teammate to disobey me. If they did and gave their teammate some food, they pass.”

“That’s your grand test?” Rin asked. “Sounds rather… difficult for genin, isn’t it?”

“I have no interest in teaching genin who aren’t willing to work together.” Kakashi shrugged. “Follow me.”

Kakashi guided them to a different area of the training ground, where a large stone memorial with many names written on it stood.

“Do you know what this is?” Kakashi asked quietly.

“The Konoha Memorial Stone,” Shirou said.

“Correct. On it is written every shinobi who has ever given their life in defence of this village. My best friend is on that stone, as are the rest of my team.”

Kakashi looked down at the stone solemnly. “I failed to learn the importance of teamwork until it got my first team killed. It took the death of my best friend to knock me off my high horse and realize its importance. That’s why my test is so hard, to teach them this lesson I learned the hard way before it got one of them killed.”

Sakura knelt down and traced her finger on the stone until she found two names.

Nara Shikakane.

Nara Yui.

“Your parents?” Shirou asked.

“Yeah,” Sakura said. “I’ve never come here before, actually. Usually I just visit them at the Nara clan’s memorial. I’ll have to bring flowers here later.” She looked at her sensei. “Do you come here often?”

“Too often some would say,” Kakashi joked. “Anyway, I guess we are now officially Team 7.”

The three of them smiled. They were now officially shinobi!

“Meet me here tomorrow at seven in the morning,” Kakashi said. “I have to go report to the Hokage that we are now officially a team.”

“By seven, do you really mean seven or nine?” Rin asked sceptically. “You won’t pull off that coming late thing you’re so well known for, will you?”

“Who knows?” Kakashi answered cheerfully. “See you.”

Kakashi disappeared in a shunshin, leaving the three genin alone.

“So…” Shirou looked at the two. “Want to go get lunch? I hear that the new hotpot place in the old village area has the Akimichi seal of approval.”

“Shouldn’t we clean up first?” Sakura asked, looking at the many, many potholes and fallen trees, not to mention kunai and shuriken scattered about everywhere.

“Nah, there are D-ranks for that, remember?” Rin said. “Come on, I’m hungry!”

* * *

“Well, that was something,” Asuma said.

“Oh really?” Kakashi appeared behind them, scaring the hell out of the genin. The jounin there were used to it, however. “And did you all enjoy the free show?”

“We enjoyed watching you struggle against three genin, yes,” Anko said with a large grin on her face.

“Yosh! My rival, you have a most youthful team!” Gai congratulated. “I am sure you’ll make their flames burn white hot!”

“Oh, did you say something, Gai?” Kakashi asked.

“Curse your hip and cool attitude, my rival!”

“This is going to be a thing with them, isn’t it?” Tenten asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Kurenai said sympathetically. To have Gai as a sensei and his rival teaching another team their age. They were bound to get up to various shenanigans sooner or later.

“My rival! I challenge you to…”

“Don’t you two have to report to the Hokage right now?” Asuma said. “Reporting the results of your tests and genin teams.”

“Ah, yes,” Gai said sheepishly. “I suppose we shall postpone the challenge to a later time.”

“Mine are cuter than yours,” Kakashi said.

“Why, my students are the very definition of cuteness!” Gai replied. “Look at them!”

Lee looked enthusiastic, Tenten looked exasperated while Neji wondered if it was too late to look for a different sensei.

“See?”

“If you say so, Gai. Oh, if you want to meet them, they’re headed for that hotpot place in the old village area for lunch.”

“Yosh! We shall go there to congratulate them in person!” Lee dragged his teammates to head out.

“Lee! The old village area is the other way!”

“Ah, sorry Neji! As punishment for my forgetfulness, I shall run fift laps around the village with Tenten on my shoulders!”

“Don’t pull me into one of your crazy challenges!”

The three genin bickered as the jounin smiled, remembering their own memories with their genin teams. Good times.

“Any interest in joint training?” Kakashi asked as they walked towards the Hokage Tower.

“Perhaps if time permits,” Gai said. “It would be good for them to meet each other often. Keep the bonds of friendship strong.”

“So long as you and that apprentice of yours tone down your youthfulness, I don’t see why we can’t help each other out.”

“THE FLAMES OF YOUTH CANNOT BE CONTAINED!!!”

“Whatever you say, Gai.”

* * *

“Well, we better get out of here,” Shikaku said. “Don’t want the men thinking we were spying on our kids now, would we?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Hiashi said. “I was here, discussing with the Hokage regarding my clan’s foreign business affairs while you just so happen to be in the office as well. When did we ever mention anything about spyi… I mean observing our children?”

Hiruzen snorted. Even Naruto could come up with a better excuse than that. “Get out of here, both of you. I can see Kakashi and Gai making their way here in three… two… one.”

The window slammed open as the two jounin entered the room.

“Hokage-sama.”

“Hokage-sama! I have a most youthful report!”

“Save it for when the others arrive,” Hiruzen sighed, seeing the two clan heads already gone. “I already know that the both of you passed your teams, anyway. And you might just give a few people heart attacks for turning up early, Kakashi.”

“Oh, is that so?” Kakashi did his signature eye smile, taking out his book to pass the time.

They waited for a few more minutes for the other jounin to arrive at the time given for the meeting. Many of the jounin did do a double take upon seeing Kakashi there early. Some of them went so far to check for a Genjutsu.

“Yes, I know, he’s here early for once,” Hiruzen said. “Now, your teams?”

“Team One, fail.”

“Team Two, fail.”

“Team Three, pass.”

“Team Four, fail.”

“Team Five, fail.”

“Team Six, fail.”

“Team Seven, pass.”

The other jounin aside from Gai looked at Kakashi in surprise. He actually passed a team?

The Hokage coughed, getting the jounin to return to reporting the results of their tests.

“Team Eight, fail.”

“Team Nine, a most youthful pass!”

“Right, three teams,” Hiruzen said. “Within expectations. All of you aside from Kakashi, leave.”

The jounin did so, Gai giving them a curious look before leaving as well. Kakashi turned to looks at his leader. “So, I’m finally getting that briefing on why three genin have files classified at the highest level?”

“Partially.” Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe. “Those files were empty anyway.” He signalled for his secretary to enter. “Please inform Shikaku and Hiashi to enter.”

The two clan heads entered the room, leaving the new jounin sensei really curious about what he was about to be briefed on.

Kakashi looked at the father and uncle of his two female students. “Must be serious if their clan heads themselves are here to tell me about it.”

“Well, it first came to our notice during the Hyuuga affair…”

* * *

“Cheers!” the six genin there cheered with raised cups of fruit juice.

Team Nine had indeed met Team Seven at the restaurant they were going to, and the two teams decided to celebrate passing by having lunch together.

“So, the first team to reach chunin wins?” Rin challenged.

“Oh, you are on!” Lee grinned before frowning. “Though, we won’t be able to see each other like this often now that we’re genin.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Neji said. “Our two senseis are ‘rivals’. Chances are we’ll be having joint training more often than not.”

“That’s great!” Tenten said. ‘More chances to get Shirou to notice me!’

Rin and Sakura narrowed their eyes at the lone kunoichi of Team Nine. Shirou was theirs!

“Food’s here,” Shirou said, not noticing the tension among the girls.

“Oh, that smells lovely,” Sakura said. “Well, let’s dig in.”

“Itadakimasu!”

Once the genin finished their meal, they chatted and groaned about their senseis, or in Lee’s case, youthfully shouting out their virtues.

All was fine until Lee reached for a cup that the waiter had accidentally given him, thinking that it was plain water. Unfortunately, the waiter had mistakenly poured sake into it and gave it to the genin, to disastrous results.

“What the? LEE!”

“Lee, what’s gotten into you!”

“Lee-kun, calm down!”

“Everyone down!” They all ducked as Lee flipped the table over their heads, thankfully only holding a few cups at that point. The table crashed to the floor, scaring many civilians. However used to shinobi and their antics, an out of control one was still something no civilian wanted to deal with. Best to let the shinobi there to handle it.

Lee drunkenly stood up, pointing a shaky finger at Shirou.

“I shall fight Shirou to show my love for Sakura-chan!”

“Say what?” Shirou hastily blocked a kick from Lee, the civilians in the restaurant wisely exiting as soon as the first sign of trouble showed up. The genin soon got into the difficult task of subduing their friend who had become an impromptu Drunken Fist master.

A minute later, when an Uchiha Military Police patrolman arrived on the scene, Lee was wrapped around in chains Shirou had projected, also being held by Sakura’s shadows while Rin and Neji had used Gentle Fist strikes to disable him. The entire restaurant was a mess, tables and chairs upturned everywhere, food and drinks splattered throughout the floor and walls.

“You’re all going to have to come with me,” the officer finally said.

They five of them that were conscious sighed. What a way to start their careers as genin.

* * *

**First day as official genin and already they’ve gotten into trouble. What an auspicious beginning! Hopefully, Lee’s team will keep him far, far away from anything containing even a drop of alcohol.**

**Omake (Girls 101 with Shirou-sensei)**

“What’s this about?” Shikamaru asked Naruto. They and the rest of the boys in their class had been called for a ‘boys only’ class being given by his brother in his house, a week after passing the ‘actual’ genin test. He was annoyed by this. He could be cloud watching with his sister, but instead, he was here, eating cookies and being around his friends, which wasn’t unpleasant, just something he considered troublesome when he could be with his sister. She was so rarely home these days.

“I don’t know.” Naruto shrugged. “Shirou-nii wouldn’t tell me anything about it, just told me to get my guy friends here so he could give us some important advice.”

“I could be training right now,” Sasuke grumbled as he helped himself to the baked goods on the table. “But Itachi-nii insisted I attend. Something about it being of vital importance to my future.”

“Whatever it is,” Choji said in between snacks. “I’m sure Shirou wouldn’t call us all here unless it was really important.”

“What makes him qualified to give us advice anyway?” Kiba asked. “He’s barely older than us!”

“And already, he has achieved the rank of chunin six months after graduating, Tokubetsu jounin a month after and is one of the most famous upcoming shinobi in the village,” Shino quietly said.

“Yeah, well I’ll catch up in no time!” Naruto shouted. “I didn’t bust my ass off to beat Kakashi-sensei’s stupid test for no reason!”

“Literally,” Sasuke smirked. “How was sensei’s little poke up your backside? Still hurt?”

“Quiet, teme!”

“Make me, dobe!”

“Alright you two, settle down,” Shirou said as he entered. “You can beat up each other later.”

“Are you finally going to tell us why we’re here?” Shikamaru asked, annoyed.

Shirou looked at them with a serious expression, getting them to stiffen. “What I am about to teach you, you shall value for the rest of your lives. It is something I had to learn via trial and error, but you shall have the benefit of an education before experiencing it yourselves.”

“What is it?” Choji asked.

Shirou took out a flipchart with the words ‘Girls 101’ written on them.

“EH?”

“Today, I shall be educating you all about girls and the various personalities they come in,” Shirou said.

“Excuse me, but how is this relevant to us as shinobi?” Shino asked with a raised hand.

“None of that raised hand stuff,” Shirou said. “We’re all full-fledged shinobi here. And this won’t matter much to your prospects as a shinobi, but for your lives as men it is worth its weight in gold.”

“I don’t believe it,” Sasuke mumbled. This was what his brother wanted him to learn?

Shirou began his lecture. “First off, we have the most common type there is. The tsundere.”

He flipped the chart, showing a picture of Rin.

“That’s Rin-nee,” Naruto said.

“Yes, yes it is,” Shirou said. “Hyuuga Rin is the epitome of a tsundere. Girls like these act all tough on the outside like, they say mean stuff to their crushes or punch them whenever they get nervous around them, but they are actually really sweet and caring on the inside.”

“That explains so much,” Kiba muttered, comparing this to what he knew of the demon in human skin that was Rin.

“She does usually act like this sometimes with Shirou,” Choji said.

Meanwhile the girl in question had the strange urge to strangle said lecturer.

* * *

“This is what he wants our students for?” Kurenai said in disbelief.

Beside her, Kakashi and Asume looked on in the utmost seriousness.

“What a great lecture,” Kakashi said. “I wish we had this when we were genin.”

“I wish I knew this stuff back when I was younger,” Asuma mumbled.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Kurenai asked him with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

“Nothing!” Asuma quickly answered.

“Sounds like Kushina-sama,” Kakashi said as Shirou finished explaining what a tsundere was.

* * *

“Next, we have the yandere.” The chart flipped to show…

“Nee-san?” Shikamaru said in disbelief as he saw a version of his sister that had a different colour scheme.

“Yandere girls are the somewhat opposite of the tsundere girls. They tend to be really violent and, most often, they show their feelings for the person of their affections… by murdering anyone who hurts them. But they do it out of love, so they’re not all that psychopathic (I think) – or at least they have a reason.”

“How is Sakura-nee anything like that?” Choji asked in disbelief.

“Oh, this isn’t her,” Shirou said. “This is the other side of her that you better hope you never see. I don’t think even the Kyuubi would dare stand in her way.”

Inside Naruto’s seal, the Kyuubi grumbled. He was so not afraid of some girl that gave out abnormal feelings to him and made every cell in his thousand-year old body scream out in terror. He was not!

Elsewhere, Sakura felt great displeasure at her senpai, for reasons she did not know.

* * *

Kakashi shuddered, remembering his own run-ins with yanderes. Truly women that were not to be trifled with.

* * *

“Now, we have the kuudere.” Shirou showed them the picture of Sasuke.

“Eh?”

“I’m not a girl!” Sasuke yelled.

“And these personality types aren’t restricted by gender, deal with it.”

Sasuke sat back down, thoroughly embarrassed as his friends snickered at him, or in Naruto’s case, laughed so hard he fell out of his seat.

“Anyway, kuudere girls are the kinds that are super cool on the outside, maybe even emotionless, but they are on par or even above the tsundere girls when it comes to their person of affection. These girls are usually emotionally strong, or indifferent as some might say, not only that, they are also serious. They will protect and care for their person of affection on the sidelines like a guardian angel, you know, a typical cool/aloof trait. But most probably, they’ll fangirl inside like all other girls when it comes to confession.”

“Well, anyone you want to tell us about?” Kiba ribbed the Uchiha. “You know, this sounds like your brother as well.”

“You leave Itachi-nii out of this!”

While helping out the Hokage sort out the paperwork in preparations for the Chunnin Exams that was coming up, Itachi wondered why he felt the desire to kick a puppy.

“And last but sure as hell not least, we have the dandere.”

The chart flipped to show a picture of their classmate, Hyuuga Hinata.

“Hinata-chan?” Naruto said. “She’s on this?”

“Dandere girls are just painfully, painfully shy. Yes, they are so shy it hurts. When it comes to the person they like, they freeze or stutter. But these girls are quite determined in their own ways, making their person of affection recognise them and their abilities as a person. A more down-to-earth personality than the tsundere and yandere girls. These girls will most probably faint or cry in shock if they get a confession.”

Everyone there looked at Naruto.

“Huh? Why are you all looking at me like that!”

They sighed. Damn dense idiot, they just knew it would take something drastic for him to realize Hinata had a crush on him. Maybe something like her getting stabbed in front of him as she confesses would do.

“And that’s all we have for today’s class,” Shirou said. “Any questions?”

Safe to say, the boys had plenty of them as their sensei’s outside watched in amusement.


	15. Chapter 14

**This took a while, but after weeks of completing tests and projects, I finally found the time to finish this. I’ll probably try to update before the new year, no promises though.**

**This is more of a filler chapter. The trios first C-rank. Kind of underwhelming to be honest.**

**Betaed by Danga.**

Chapter 14

Rin sighed as she continued weeding the garden with Shirou and Sakura. It had been a week since that disastrous lunch with Team Nine and they were still paying for it. Stupid Lee and his low tolerance for alcohol. Seriously, who got drunk off a single cup of sake?

Anyway, the damage amounted to a few thousand ryo worth about ten D-ranks. Guess where their paychecks were going for the first week or so of doing them? At least no one got hurt, and the Uchiha Military Police let them off after the whole situation was explained. Apparently, random bouts of destruction from inebriated shinobi wasn’t all that uncommon, and so long as no one got injured, they were just reprimanded and let go.

“My, what did that weed ever do to you?” Kakashi-sensei said from his spot, leaning against a tree reading his book in the shade.

“It’s existence created this mission, that’s what,” Rin grumbled.

“Well, lighten up,” Shirou said. “You’re about to dig up the flowers too.”

“Why are you two so good at this?” Rin said as she resumed pulling out weeds.

“Someone had to take care of the garden back home,” Shirou said. “And Sakura helps sometimes.”

“I like gardening,” Sakura said.

“Well I don’t,” Rin said.

The three continued bickering while they weeded, finishing the mission soon.

“And that’s the D-rank of the day,” Kakashi said as he got the client to sign on the mission scroll confirming that the mission was done. “What say we have a training exercise after lunch?”

“Yes, sensei,” the three answered.

“Let’s go report this finished mission at the mission desk,” Kakashi said.

“Think we’ll see the kids when we get there?” Sakura said.

“Well, it is nearing lunch time,” Rin said.

“Hopefully he’s staying out of trouble,” Shirou said.

The three genin and one jounin sensei made their way to the Academy, where the Hokage’s office and the mission desk were also located. The reasoning for the location was probably to have the Hokage literally next door in case someone thought it was a good idea to target the village’s youth to cripple it. To do that, they’d have to go through the Hokage first, and not many people would find that appealing.

A well-thought-out design made sure that the academic and administrative sides of the building never clashed. Separate entrances made sure shinobi didn’t need to deal with kids when coming in to report for a mission, though they could if they wanted to. Soundproofing also made sure that the office chunins never had to deal with the sound of rumbustious chibi shinobi in training interrupting their work.

The three of them wanted to see their younger siblings, so they took the route that took them past the field where Naruto and his friends were having lunch.

“Shirou-nii, Rin-nee, Sakura-nee!” Naruto yelled in greeting as soon as he saw them. Shikamaru and Hinata looked towards them as well.

“Nee-san,” Hinata greeted.

“Sakura-nee,” Shikamaru greeted, then went back to his nap.

Naruto ran up to them. “Did you guys just come back from a mission? Was it a super cool one like saving a princess? Or did you save a kingdom? Did you learn any super cool jutsu? Did you…”

“Whoa, slow done, Naruto,” Shirou said. “We just did a D-rank, weeding a garden, nothing interesting there.”

“Weeding a garden!?” Naruto exclaimed. “What kind of mission is that?”

“A D-rank,” Shikamaru said. “Iruka-sensei told us about them. They’re basically chores that genin get when they’re just starting out.”

“It’s just our first week,” Rin said. “You can’t expect us to be going on exciting and dangerous missions right off the bat.”

“Still, weeding a garden? Lame,” Kiba said.

“We also have training with sensei later,” Sakura said.

“That guy?” Ino asked, pointing at Kakashi who was listening in on them. “The one with the white hair and book?”

“That’s the one,” Shirou said.

“He doesn’t look that tough,” Naruto said.

“He’s a jounin,” Sasuke said. “He’s probably really strong. Like Itachi-nii.”

“Maa, thanks for the vote of confidence, Sasuke-chan,” Kakashi said.

“Don’t call me that,” Sasuke grumbled.

“Yeah, he’s more of a teme,” Naruto said.

“Don’t call him that!” Haruno Sakura yelled.

“Dobe,” Sasuke said.

“Teme!”

“Dobe!”

“Knock it off, you two,” Shirou sighed. “We should get going, we have training later.”

“Bye!” the kids said.

They walked for a good while, entering the administrative side before Kakashi said, “You know, they’re just one year younger than you three, yet you act like your ages are much farther apart.”

Rin looked at her sensei. “You do realize that we are far older than we look.”

“I remember that briefing,” Kakashi said. “Still hard to believe at times.”

“Yeah, well, maybe we’ll get to show you the full extent of what we can do in a few years,” Shirou said.

Kakashi shrugged. “I don’t expect to still be your sensei in a few months. The three of you are practically chunin in all but name. The first exam you three enter is going to be a curb stomp if I ever saw one.”

“Well, that’ll just mean you can get some new students,” Sakura said. “Maybe even teach Naruto and his friends.”

“Teach them?” Kakashi thought about it. “Well, there’s still a year until they graduate, who knows what’ll happen during that time.”

“We might even come around to help out,” Rin said. “Who knows what horrors any new genin will have to face with you as a jounin sensei.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I’m a great sensei,” Kakashi said.

“You have us,” Rin said. “We’re your first students and we’re remarkably easy to teach.”

“Well, as their senpai, I’m sure you’ll help get them up to snuff,” Kakashi said.

“A senpai…” Sakura fantasized about it. “I’ll be a senpai!”

“Yes, you have finally been promoted from kouhai to senpai,” Rin teased.

The girls laughed, Shirou cracking a smile as well. Kakashi thought about when the Hokage briefed him about his new students’ unique circumstances.

*Flashback*

“So let me get this straight,” Kakashi said after being briefed by the Hokage, the Jonin Commander and Hyuuga clan head. “My students are actually people who have been reincarnated and remember their past lives, as well as retaining whatever skills and abilities they possessed.”

“Well… yes, that’s about it,” Hiruzen said.

Kakashi stared at the three of them. “Ok then.”

*Flashback end*

In hindsight, he was rather unperturbed about the whole thing. Of course, he asked the three of them about it the next day. It was rather fascinating to have an adult conversation with three kids who didn’t even reach his shoulders. It did explain a lot of what he observed about the three of them though.

They walked till they reached the door to the Hokage’s office, where his secretary was working at her desk beside the door.

“Team Seven, here to report completion of mission,” Kakashi said.

“In a moment,” the secretary said. She opened the door and told the Hokage who it was. She turned towards Team Seven. “The Hokage will see you now.”

“Thank you.”

They entered the Hokage’s office, where the man was puffing on his pipe as he did paperwork.

“Hokage-sama,” they greeted.

“Ah, Kakashi-kun and his students,” Hiruzen said. “I trust your mission was a success?”

Kakashi handed in the mission scroll. “Weeding of Ms. Fushinami’s garden is complete.”

“Good.” Hiruzen read through the scroll, stamped his seal on it and put it with the pile of completed missions. “Now, would you like another one? I have a stack of D-ranks that need completing.”

“Actually, I believe it’s about time they went on a C-rank,” Kakashi said. “I was thinking of taking them out on one in a few days.”

“Sensei?” Shirou asked.

“Well, it’s about time,” Rin said.

“What kind of mission are we getting?” Sakura asked.

“Is mission 44-A available?” Kakashi asked.

Hiruzen’s eyes widened. “You want to take them there for their first C-rank?”

“Why not?” Kakashi said. “It’s not like they can’t handle it.”

Hiruzen sighed. “Oh, very well. If no one volunteered I was going to assign it to a team anyway.”

Kakashi caught the mission scroll the Hokage threw at him and eye smiled at his cute little students. “Meet me at Training Ground Three at two. In the meanwhile, enjoy your lunch. Ja ne.”

Kakashi shunshined out of the Hokage’s open window, leaving behind a pile of leaves.

“I swear, he does that on purpose,” Hiruzen grumbled. He turned towards the three genin. “And how have you been adapting to genin life?”

“It’s not as exciting as I thought it would be,” Sakura said. “But I suppose that’s the D-ranks talking. Our first C-rank, how exciting.”

“No more exciting than foiling kidnapping attempts, I assure you,” the wizened old shinobi said. “Now go enjoy your lunch. I’m sure your sensei has much planned for your training later and you’ll need the energy.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” the three of them said politely, before leaving through the door.

“Now, why can’t more of my shinobi use the door,” Hiruzen sighed. “It’s there for that very reason.”

*Line Break*

Kakashi looked at his students as they stood before him. They were at Training Ground Three for their training. So far, Kakashi had evaluated the three of them as being far above where he was at their age. Using only normal shinobi abilities, they could easily contend with most chunin and some less skilled jounin. And that was what he considered to be actual shinobi at chunin and jounin level, not people promoted above their ability to fill in the ranks. If they started using their magecraft, as they called it, well he was sure that there were few jounin that could honestly keep up.

They had all the basics down, knew the tree walking and water walking exercises, knew their own techniques inside out. Best he could think of helping them there was in how they were used and tactics utilizing them. Their more exotic abilities were outside of his ability to help them.

Honestly, Rin was the one he could teach the most, being a Ninjutsu specialist with an affinity for all the five elements, he had an abundance of jutsus he could teach her. Her interest in chakra theory and how new jutsus were created was also something he could help her out with.

Shirou, he could work with on his kenjutsu and any other weapons he might need help with. He had fought against a wide variety of weapon users with varying degrees of skill. At the very least, he could spar with Shirou to keep his skills sharp, since he seemed to have the basic forms of most weapons down.

Sakura, he honestly was unsure how to teach. Perhaps he could help polish her Taijutsu as compared to the other two, she was the weakest at it. Understandable though, with her shadow tendrils, getting close enough to fight her in hand to hand was a difficult proposition. No reason not to make sure she could handle herself in a fist fight though.

In terms of teamwork and synergy, the three needed little help. Honestly, it was a delight to have a team that understood it so well. They knew each other well and could seamlessly cover each other, taking advantage of any openings one of them created and never got in each other’s way.

If this was war time, they would have been promoted to chunin almost immediately. However, since it was not, they would have to take the exams like any other team. Kakashi could already see them dominating any exam they took part in, unless said exam had others like them.

“Right, I think this time I’ll fight each of you individually,” Kakashi said. “Shirou, you first. Taijutsu only, which means no weapons.”

“Alright, sensei,” Shirou said. He got into a taijutsu stance and faced his sensei.

And this went on for half an hour, Kakashi switching between his students as he took note of any room for improvements they could use.

“So, sensei,” Sakura said after all three of them had their turn with Kakashi. “What was your first C-rank like?”

Kakashi thought about it. “My first C-rank? Well, it wasn’t all that interesting. It was a merchant escort mission from Konoha to a town near the border with the Land of Rain. It was a few years before the Third War and bandits around the area had increased.”

Kakashi shrugged. “We escorted the merchant to town, got the scroll signed and were on our way back to Konoha. We didn’t even encounter a single bandit on our way back.”

“Do all C-ranks take us out of the village?” Rin asked.

“Not all of them,” Kakashi said. “There are some missions in the village that are more difficult than catching cats or weeding gardens. In fact, that’s what your first C-rank will be.”

“Anything in particular?” Shirou asked.

Kakashi eye smiled at them. “Let’s just say you three should pack for a few days in the wild.”

“We’re going to do the annual culling of the Forest of Death, aren’t we?” Rin said.

Kakashi pouted at her. “Did you have to ruin my fun? Anyway, yes, we will be undertaking the annual culling this year.”

Training Ground Forty-Four, better known as the Forest of Death was Konoha’s most infamous training ground. Exactly twenty kilometres in diameter, with forty-four entrances, it was host to a wide variety of mutated beasts and plants.

Among the more exaggerated tales of the training ground’s origins was that it was originally created by the First Hokage for his wife using his Mokuton, who then filled it with various species of animals. But after the First Hokage’s death, the chakra he used to create it mutated out of control and seeped into the wildlife, turning its inhabitants into giant, mutated versions of themselves.

Whatever the truth was, it didn’t change the fact that having a forest full of chakra mutated animals within a village that had civilians wasn’t the best idea. The walls first came up when a tiger as tall as a war horse made its way to the village market. Fortunately, this was a shinobi village, and the tiger was quickly subdued before it could cause any harm.

Following civilian protests to having said training ground within the village, the walls soon came up to surround the place and patrols regularly made by the Uchiha Military Police to make sure no young children would try to enter from a childish dare. They were also there to make sure nothing got out.

The place was dangerous enough that a careless chunin could get killed within it if he went to the more dangerous parts of it. It also housed some of the more exotic plants that the hospital used for medicine that couldn’t grow anywhere else so there was incentive not to burn it to the ground.

Of course, every now and then, the animal population within it had to be culled. There was only so much land, and no one wanted a repeat of the tigerin the market incident. Which leads them to the C-rank they would be taking tomorrow.

“Pest control, huh?” Shirou said. “Well, I guess this is a good time to find out if the giant tigers are capable of being domesticated.”

“What, do you want to take one home with you?” Rin said. “Maybe name it Taiga while you’re at it.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Sakura said. “The place could use a pet.”

Kakashi wondered what kind of world the three lived in before all this. Sure, the idea of having a ninja animal as a pet wasn’t exactly unusual, but who the hell thought that a tiger that was as tall as a man made a good pet?

“The mission will also be an opportunity for me to see how you three handle camping,” Kakashi said. “So pack for a three days camping trip and any supplies you think you might need. We’ll meet here again tomorrow, and I’ll check and see if you missed anything before we head in. Any questions?”

“Are you sure we’re ready for a mission like this?” Shirou asked.

“Well, we’ll find out, won’t we?” Kakashi said. “I’m confident you can handle combat against a team of chunin of equal number without me. But surviving in a hostile environment is a different matter. I’m using this mission to assess how well you’ll do in a real situation where I won’t be around.”

“I don’t think we have any more questions,” Rin said as Sakura shook her head.

“Then we’ll meet again tomorrow morning at seven,” Kakashi said. “Ja ne.”

Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves as he shunshined away.

“Best we go over to Tenten’s place and get supplies,” Sakura said.

“I think they have scrolls full of supplies for any environment,” Shirou said.

“Well, let’s go then,” Rin said. 

*Line Break*

Tenten sighed as she manned the cashier of her family’s shop. She had just returned after a gruelling training session with her team, which only Lee seemed to finish without feeling exhausted. Then, they had to go catch Madam Shinji’s cat. She swore that cat was possessed by a demon. How else could a normal cat outrun a genin?

Hearing the bell at the door ring, Tenten looked up.

“Welcome to Tendou’s, how can I… Oh, hi guys!”

Team Seven walked into the shop.

“And how was your day?” Shirou asked. “And are you the only one manning the shop right now?”

“Exhausting,” Tenten said. “I swear, those two aren’t human. Who runs a lap around the village and calls it a ‘light warmup’? Then makes us chase after that damned cat later as a D-rank. My mom’s in the back, sorting out some new stock.”

“I hear you,” Rin said. “How many more D-ranks until you guys finish paying your half of the damages?”

“Just two more,” Tenten sighed. “Of course, hearing Lee apologize nonstop is starting to annoy me as well. Anyway, do you three need anything?”

“We need forest survival gear,” Sakura said. “We’re going on a C-rank.”

“Already? Wow, that’s quick,” Tenten said. “Third aisle from the right.”

“Thanks,” Shirou said as he went there. He returned with three scrolls with “FOREST’ labelled on it.

“Place it on the counter and open it up,” Tenten said. “See if it has everything you need.”

Shirou did so, opening it up and pumping some chakra into the sealing array drawn on the scroll.

POOF.

On the counter, an assortment of gear appeared. There were tents, sleeping bags, pots, ropes, compasses and several other items you would need if camping in a forest.

“What’s this?” Sakura asked as she grabbed a spray can.

“Mosquito repellent, I think,” Shirou said. “The scentless kind. How does that work anyway?”

“Special chemical formulas, I think,” Rin said. “Think they’ll work against the ones in the Forest of Death?”

“The what?” Tenten asked.

“Also known as Training Ground Forty-Four,” Shirou said. “We’re headed there tomorrow to do some pest control.”

“Ok, I don’t see how that’s a C-rank,” Tenten said.

“It’s filled with tigers the size of horses and leeches the size of your arms,” Sakura said. “I think there’s a book about it back home in the Nara Clan Library.”

“Do you think your dad would mind if we borrowed that?” Rin asked. “Or could you make notes for us?”

“Sure,” Sakura said.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Tenten said. “What was that about horse sized tigers and arm sized leeches?! Why does Konoha even have those!?”

“Survival training?” Shirou suggested.

“Convenient place to host the survival portion of the Chunin Exams when we host them,” Tsukiko said as she walked in. “Hello kids, first C-rank?”

“Yes, Tsukiko,” Shirou said. “We’re doing pest control.”

“Nice, watch out for the rat sized mosquitoes.”

“That’s a thing!?” a bewildered Tenten asked.

“Dear, you’d be surprised with what you’ll find in that training ground,” Tenten’s mother said. “Why, once I found a three-eyed squirrel eating a nut the size of your head.”

“Now you’re just trying to scare me,” Tenten said.

Tsukiko merely smiled at her daughter. She would learn if she ever took a trip to that place.

*Line Break*

“You’re going WHERE?” Anko yelled.

Shirou had returned with his supplies and immediately went to work on dinner. Anko returned from work and soon, he, Anko and Naruto were seated on the table eating.

“What’s the Forest of Death?” Naruto asked.

Anko breathed. “The Forest of Death, officially Training Ground Forty-Four, is Konoha’s most dangerous training ground. It’s where we have the survival portion of any Chunin Exam we host. Of the various species we know of that calls that place home, there are dozens more we have no knowledge of. Damn near everything there is capable of killing a grown man with ease. The least dangerous thing there are the rodent sized mosquitoes.”

Anko pouted. “It’s also my playground. Shirou! Do you have to go and ruin my home away from home?”

Shirou looked at his new surrogate sister. “Ok, one, it’s nice that you think of this place as your home. Two, I didn’t pick this mission, Kakashi-sensei did. You have a bone to pick with someone, go to him. And three, do you do this to everyone who gets this mission?”

“Usually I snatch it up before anyone else,” Anko said. “Sometimes I manipulate others who get it to give it to me. Honestly, show a little skin and some chunin start giving you anything you want.”

“What if it’s a kunoichi?” Shirou asked.

Anko just smiled at him. “What about them?”

“What are you two talking about?” Naruto asked.

“You’re too young for that,” Anko and Shirou said together.

“Although, something tells me that’s not quite true anymore,” Anko said with a smirk.

Shirou raised an eyebrow as Naruto started looking worried. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Oh really?” Anko looked like the cat who just caught the canary. Or was it the snake who caught the mouse? Either way, Anko looked ready to tease Naruto, her favourite pastime as she discovered her tactics didn’t work quite so well on him.

“Well, it just so happens that a certain someone was caught with the Hokage’s grandson in a bookstore reading books of an adult nature,” Anko said.

It took a few seconds for Shirou to process those words before it clicked.

Shirou turned to give Naruto a disappointed look. “Reading adult magazines? What do you think will happen if Rin or Sakura find out?”

Naruto paled. He could already imagine what the reactions would be.

_Rin’s usually blank eyes were filed with flames, the veins around them bulging and she seemed to grow several feet as she loomed over him._

_Sakura gave him her disappointed face, while her shadow seemed to grow to encompass the Sun and red globes appeared where the eyes of the shadow would be._

Naruto shivered food forgotten as he imagined that scenario. All thoughts of boasting about the new anti-pervert jutsu he thought up with Konohamaru were forgotten. He would still use it, but he would use it far, far away from any of his surrogate sisters.

“Yes, best you keep that jutsu to yourself,” Anko said.

Naruto's head turned towards her so fast Shirou feared he might get whiplash. “You know!”

Anko laughed. “Oh, I didn’t follow you if that’s what you’re worried about. But I know that you just mastered the Henge a few days ago and then you went to drool over scantily clad models. It wasn’t too far a leap of logic to make.”

“Should I be concerned?” Shirou asked.

“Unless he’s stupid enough to use one of two people as his choice, you shouldn’t be,” Anko said before looking at Naruto. “You aren’t that stupid, right?”

Naruto paled further. He wanted to live!

“Yeah,” Anko nodded. “You should be fine.”

“Right,” Shirou said after a while. “I’m not touching this topic again even with a pike. Anyway, do you have any tips or advice for surviving that little piece of hell you call your playground?”

“Come along,” Anko said as she wrapped Shirou under her arms and dragged him off. “And let big sis Anko regale to you her tales about what lies within the deepest corners of that place.”

Naruto looked at the empty plates and pots. “Oh man! It’s my turn to do the dishes tonight.”

*Line Break*

“You’re taking a C-rank already?” Neji asked in disbelief as his cousin told him about it as she packed.

“Yup,” Rin said as she inspected a water canteen before putting it in her bag.

“Ano, isn’t that a bit soon?” Hinata asked. “You’ve been a genin for only a week. Tou-san said that it normally takes a month before a jounin sensei is confident enough to take their team on a C-rank.”

“It’ll still be within the village,” Rin said. “And we’ll be only a few minutes away from the hospital if sensei runs at full sprint. We’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure this is enough?” Hanabi asked as she played with one of Rin’s spare clothes. Rin gently removed it from her, folded it and put it in the bag.

“Most of the larger supplies are being held in sealing scrolls,” Rin explained. “And sensei will be checking our supplies before we head off. Tou-san already said he wanted a look when I was done.”

Rin took a look at the field rations she had taken from the clan’s store. Though the village’s ones were of good quality, clan ones were just better when it came to things like flavour. She had packed enough for the four of them to last a week, just in case. It wasn’t like sealing scrolls took up a lot of weight or space anyway, at least in comparison to what they stored.

“Isn’t that a bit much?” Neji asked as Rin sealed several dozen kunai and placed a few more in her pouch.

“You never know,” Rin said. “The place we’re going to is called the Forest of Death with good reason. People have died in there, shinobi as well.”

“I’ve heard the rumours about that place,” Neji said. “Though I’m not sure how much of it I believe.”

“Believe them,” Hiashi said as he opened the door to his daughter’s room. “Despite what we let any chunin hopefuls think, we do in fact clear the place of any truly dangerous beasts before they enter.”

“Tou-san/ Oji-sama,” they greeted.

“How are your preparations?” Hiashi asked.

“Well,” Rin said. “Though I’m not sure if I’m missing anything.”

“Hmm, let me see.” Hiashi rummaged through what Rin had packed so far. “I believe you are quite set for your three-day camp. Though it would be wise to separate what is truly necessary from what isn’t in case you have to drop some weight.”

Hiashi looked at his daughter. “This will be your first true mission as a genin. Be safe and I know you’ll do us proud.”

“Yes, father.”

*Line Break*

“What are you reading?” Shikamaru asked as he looked over his sister’s shoulder.

“A Guide to the Forest of Death, Where Everything Is Able to Kill You,” Sakura said. “By Nara Katsui.”

“We have a book like that?” Shikamaru said in surprise. “And what’s the Forest of Death?”

“Where nee-san will be taking her first C-rank tomorrow,” Sakura said, pointing at her packed bag and supplies.

“So soon? I thought it normally takes a few weeks before a genin team takes their first C-rank,” Shikamaru said.

“Well, it’s still in the village,” Sakura said. “Sensei is just using it as a way to assess how we’ll handle living in the wild.”

“There are in-village C-ranks?”

“Some,” Sakura said as she read a particularly interesting bit about the plants there. “I think gate guarding counts as one. That is if you manage to pry it out of the hands of those two eternal gate guard chunins.”

“Huh, well I know what I’m doing once I make chunin,” Shikamaru said.

“You wish,” Shikaku said as he entered the room. He looked at the packed bag in Sakura’s room. “What’s this? Going on a camping trip?”

“C-rank into the Forest of Death,” Sakura said. “Sensei is turning it into a three-day training camp for us.”

“Troublesome,” Shikaku said. “Figures he would use that of all places to hold one.”

“What’s so bad about that place?” Shikamaru asked.

Sakura wordlessly held out the book to him. Shikamaru skimmed through it, eyebrow raising as he read about the horrors that called the place home.

“And this place is in the village?” Shikamaru said as he put the book down.

“Well, I don’t think anyone ever planned on it,” Shikaku said. “We just made use of it since it was already there, and nobody wanted to chop down what was once the Shodaime’s garden. We’re pretty sure it was the Nidaime who officially designated it a training ground, but paperwork from that time period is kind of disorganized due to the First War, so no one is certain.”

“Can you even chop it down?” Sakura asked.

“Sure, a few jounin and some destructive Ninjutsu would see to it that the whole place was cleared within a day,” Shikaku said. “But it’s just such a convenient place to hold Chunin Exams that no one wants to despite all the civilian petitions. Not to mention the unique plant life there that we use for poisons and medicine.”

“Why can’t we just grow them in greenhouses if they’re so valuable?” Shikamaru asked.

“We’ve tried,” Shikaku said. “According to Inoichi, the unique soil composition of the place is impossible to recreate. Best theory is that the Shodaime’s chakra is so heavily seeped into the place that it’s the only place those plants can grow. That’s also the running theory on how the animals there grew to be so big.”

“Well, I’m never going there if I can help it,” Shikamaru said. “I’m going to bed. Night.”

“Night,” Sakura said.

Shikaku turned to his niece. “Mind if I look through what you’ve packed?”

“Go ahead.”

Shikaku checked that Sakura was properly packed for a three-day camp in the middle of a forest. Sure, the Academy taught them how to pack for trips and they even went on one before, but it never hurt to check.

“You know, I remember my first C-rank,” Shikaku said. “It was a bandit suppressing one. It was during the tail end of the Second War when banditry was at an all time high. My first kill too.”

“Hmm, first kill huh,” Sakura said.

“Usually first C-ranks are used to ease genin into their first kills,” Shikaku said. “Sure, the desensitization programs in the Academy are supposed to make you indifferent to having to kill, but it’s just not the same when you know you’ve ended a man’s life with your own two hands.”

“I’ve killed before, back then,” Sakura said. “Not as much as Shirou or Rin, since I mostly stayed home, but I’m not exactly innocent.”

“I know,” Shikaku sighed. “It’s just that talking about it was something a shinobi parent is supposed to do.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll have your chance with Shikamaru-kun,” Sakura said. “I’ll be fine, you don’t have to worry. This isn’t the first time I’ve gone camping in a hostile environment where everything can kill me.”

“You have places like that back then?” Shikaku asked.

“We called it Australia,” Sakura said. “Place was a hotbed for poisonous creatures. Though in terms of environment the Amazon would be closer to where we’re going, being a forest and all.”

“Sometimes I still can’t get my head around the fact that you three are from a different world,” Shikaku said. “Well, I’m sure you’ll handle yourself well tomorrow. Get some rest, you’ll need it.”

“Ok, night.”

*Line Break*

Anko entered the Rusty Kunai. “Barkeep, my usual!”

She plopped down where Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and Kurenai were. It was once again bar night for the friends, this time Asuma and Kurenai were asking about how the two new jounin senseis of the group were doing.

“My students are most youthful!” Gai said. “However, it would seem we must endeavour to distance young Lee from alcohol, as he cannot hold his liquor.”

“You mean the genin who destroyed that restaurant was yours?” Asuma said. “That’s one way to begin your career.”

“Children their age shouldn’t be drinking anyway,” Kurenai said.

“My genin were there too,” Kakashi said. “They were celebrating graduating. As far as we’re concerned, they’re the only two teams who will make jounin before they hit twenty.”

“Wasn’t there another team, Team Three?” Kurenai asked. “What about them.”

“They’ve been earmarked for intelligence work,” Anko said. “They’re good, but not as combat oriented as Kakashi’s or Gai’s brats. Speaking of which…”

Anko pouted playfully at Kakashi. “Do you have to take the brats to desecrate my playground tomorrow?”

“What’s this now?” Gai asked.

“I’m taking my team on their first C-rank tomorrow,” Kakashi said. “We’re doing the annual culling of the Forest of Death.”

“Isn’t this a bit too soon?” Kurenai said. “It’s been only a week since you’ve had this team.”

“I don’t know,” Asuma said. “You saw their test. They obviously can handle themselves in a fight. Besides, the Forest of Death is still within the village. Anything happens, they can get out in no time.”

“Yosh! I cannot allow my team to lose to my rivals!” Gai said. “I shall take my students on a C-rank as well!”

“Don’t be too hasty now, Gai,” Kakashi said. “I know your students are good as well, but from what I’ve seen Rock Lee can still use some training before I’d be comfortable leading him on a C-rank.”

Gai sighed. “I suppose you’re right. He’s handicap means he’ll have to be heads and shoulders above everyone at Taijutsu to make up for his inability at Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. I reckon another week to get them to familiarize combat as a team before they’re ready.”

“Speaking of which, your team has eerily good coordination with each other,” Kurenai said. “It’s like they’ve been a team for much longer.”

“The three of them have been friends since before the Academy,” Anko explained. “It’s a rare day when they aren’t over at Shirou’s during their Academy days. They bring their siblings along too.”

“The next generation is looking to be closer than the previous ones,” Kurenai said. “How many classes can say they’ve been friends since before the Academy?”

“Remember our class?” Asuma said. “I think my dad has a picture of it somewhere. We were all pint sized during our entrance ceremony.”

“Obito was already challenging Kakashi back then,” Kurenai said.

“Yeah,” Kakashi said nostalgically. He raised his cup. “To fallen friends.”

“To fallen friends.”

“So, are you old geezers done reminiscing about the good old days?” Anko asked.

“Old!” Kurenai said. “I’m barely three years older than you.”

“And I’m the youngest person here,” Anko countered. “That by default makes you all old.”

The jounin at the table just laughed it off. They were all shinobi who lived through both a war and reached the age of twenty. That made them old by shinobi standards.

“By the way, when are you getting that promotion to full jounin?” Kurenai asked. “I know you’ve been cleared since, you know.”

Anko subconsciously palmed her neck, where her cursed seal was, or at least used to be.

After the whole Danzo debacle, where it was found that he was collaborating with Orochimaru to keep tabs on her to see how her cursed seal was progressing, the Hokage decided to ask the kids if they could remove it.

They could and did so that very day. Honestly, Anko hadn’t felt this clean in a long time. No longer having to fight off Orochimaru’s taint, her entire chakra control went out of whack. She had to relearn her chakra control from scratch, the horror. Not to mention the memories Orochimaru had sealed when she didn’t agree to follow him. She had almost cried at finding out she wasn’t abandoned, that she had of her own accord refused to continue following him after he all but branded her with his seal.

Without the seal, she found that she had a lot more chakra to spare now. Her skills skyrocketed past what they used to be. She was honestly one of the better jounin in the village these days. And with Danzo no longer around to subtly hamstring her, she was offered a full promotion by the Hokage.

However, Anko decided against it. She wanted some time to decide where she wanted to take her life. That, and a full promotion would probably mean more missions away from the village. She wanted to wait until at least after Naruto had graduated before she took the Hokage up on that promotion.

“I’m not sure,” Anko admitted. “I’ve been a Tokujo for so long that I honestly never thought I’d be promoted. And you know the stigma attached to me due to who my sensei was.”

“Anko, let me give you some advice,” Kakashi said. “Fuck them. ”

“EH?”

“My dad decided his teammates were more important than the mission,” Kakashi said. “For that, he was shamed until he committed seppuku. From that, I learned that people as a whole are idiots and their opinion shouldn’t matter to you. The only opinions from others you should care about are from your friends.”

“Thanks,” Anko said. “Kakashi giving out pep talks. The world’s really gone insane.”

“Well, if you need it, you’ll have my support,” Asuma said.

“Mine too,” Kurenai said.

“Mine as well,” Gai said.

“Well, when you have the support of three of the most powerful jounin in the village, you know you have good friends,” Anko said. “Still annoyed at you for going to mess up my playground tomorrow though.”

Kakashi shrugged. It wasn’t like she didn’t do some culling of her own when she was there.

*Line Break*

It was seven in the morning, and in Training Ground Three, Shirou, Rin and Sakura waited for their sensei.

“What’s taking him so long?” Rin said.

“Maybe he got held up?” Sakura suggested.

“He’s probably messing with us again,” Shirou said. “I mean, he was always late last week after we passed his test.”

“I’m going to check and see if he’s around,” Rin said. She activated her Byakugan eyes and looked around.

“No way.” Rin felt a vein bulge on her forehead at what she was seeing.

“What is it?” Shirou asked.

“He’s having a stare off with a black cat right at the edge of the training ground,” Rin answered.

“…”

“You know, of all the excuses he gave us, this one takes the cake,” Shirou said.

“Well, should we do something?” Sakura asked.

“Aside from shooting an arrow at him to get his ass over here, I don’t think there’s anything we can do to get him to stop playing around,” Shirou said.

“You should shoot him,” Rin said.

“Rin, shooting people isn’t the answer to everything,” Shirou said.

“Maybe we should make our way to him?” Sakura said.

“Fine,” Rin sighed. She led them to where Kakashi was, each of them carrying their bags.

They found Kakashi still staring off with the black cat.

“Oh, hello my cute little genin,” Kakashi greeted. “As you can see, I’m in a little predicament at the moment.”

“With a cat,” Rin deadpanned.

“A black cat,” Kakashi corrected. “Wouldn’t want your sensei to get bad luck now, would we?”

“Oh, for the love of!” Rin scooped the cat up and threw it away.

The car screeched as it was airborne before landing on its feet some distance away. It wasted no time in running away from the crazy humans that threw it.

“That wasn’t very nice of you,” Kakashi said.

“I’m a kunoichi, nice has nothing to do with it,” Rin said.

Shirou and Sakura sighed at that.

“Well, now that you’re here, why don’t I check to make sure you’re packed for this mission,” Kakashi said.

The three of them put down their bags and storage scrolls as Kakashi inspected each one.

“Well, I can say you’re well prepared at least,” Kakashi said. “Though I don’t think you’ll need that much food. The Forest of Death does have edible animals and plants in it.”

“Surprisingly,” Sakura said. “The fish for some reason haven’t evolved to have venom and are as normal as can be for freshwater fish.”

“You read that from a book?” Shirou asked.

“I made some notes,” Sakura said. “I’ll share them with you later.”

“You’ve researched where you’ll be going, good,” Kakashi said approvingly. “But I don’t think you three need to worry that much. I’ll be around in case things get out of hand. And we’re only a few minutes from the rest of the village if we really need to get out.

Shirou shrugged. “We like to be prepared.”

“Well, off we go then,” Kakashi said.

*Line Break*

The four of them stood outside the main gate sealing off Training Ground Forty-Four from the rest of the village. Behind the gates stood the eerie forest. It was a stark contrast from the village and often made them wonder how it didn’t clash with the village aesthetic.

“And here we are,” Kakashi said.

“You know, I always wondered just how big the village is to be able to house a forest that’s 20km across,” Sakura said.

“Let’s just say the founders thought really far ahead when they were building it,” Kakashi said.

“Well, off we go I guess,” Rin said.

The four of them entered through the gate and into the forest. The change in environment was immediate. From the village streets to the dense forest. The sunlight was blocked by the tall trees and the noise of insects soon blanketed the whole area.

“So, where are we staying?” Rin asked. “I know there’s the tower in the middle of the place, but you did ask us to bring camping gear.”

“We’ll be camping not too far from it,” Kakashi said. “Well, you three will be. I’ll be nearby, but for the most part you’ll be the ones doing everything.

“Aren’t we supposed to be culling the beasts that live here?” Sakura asked.

“Tomorrow,” Kakashi said. “First, I want you three to set camp.”

“There’s a river that runs through here,” Sakura said, having studied the map about the place. “We should make camp there.”

“Lead on,” Shirou said.

They jumped through the trees, following Sakura as she led them to the river. However, their peaceful trek ended soon enough.

“We have several giant centipedes up ahead,” Rin said, having spotted them with her eyes. “And by giant I mean the size of anacondas.”

“That didn’t take long,” Shirou said as he traced his swords. “Shall we engage?”

“Go ahead,” Kakashi said. “Those things breed quickly.”

They were upon the pests within a minute. Shirou threw a kunai with an explosive tag on it into the middle of the swarm, killing mist of them. The remaining centipedes were taken out by kunai thrown through their heads.

They looked at the squirming forms of the centipedes as they died. Poison dripped down their pincers as they made sure the centipedes stayed dead.

“I wonder how regular wildlife survives here,” Rin said.

“By being very smart,” Kakashi said. “Excellent work, you three. You handled that easily.”

They continued on, encountering no trouble as they soon heard the sound of a flowing river.

“This is a nice place to set camp,” Kakashi said. “Land’s flat, not too far from the river, trees aren’t too close so we don’t have to worry about leeches and no animal tracks so we shouldn’t happen across one at night.”

“Let’s set up camp then,” Rin said.

Working together, the three of them were done in minutes. They had the tent set up, a campfire up and their bags put away. Shirou was soon smoking the fish Rin caught in the river and Sakura gutted.

“This is nice fish,” Kakashi said, somehow eating without taking his mask off. “How did you find seasoning this far out?”

“I brought them with me,” Shirou said. “Never leave home without them.”

Kakashi wondered if he should have meetings at Shirou’s house more often next time if this was how he cooked. He could see why Anko never complained about her unofficial babysitting mission. He wouldn’t either if this was what he would be eating for the next few years.

Soon, they were on their way to the next major breeding site. This time they encountered the giant leeches that called the place home.

Rin wasted no time in killing them all before they even got within bloodsucking distance of them.

Boar. Ram. Snake. Horse. Dragon.

“Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!”

Rin modified the lightning release Ninjutsu to be emitted as an ever-expanding sphere with a range of several dozen metres instead of a stream. While it would at most stun a man at close range, against leeches, even giant-sized ones, it was more than enough to fry them.

Shirou traced a large umbrella for them all as extra crispy leeches rained down all over the place. They cringed at the smell. Apparently leeches didn’t have the best scent when fried.

“You are very handy to have around,” Kakashi said as the three of them waited for the rain of dead leeches to stop.

Rin grumbled as she held her breath. She couldn’t wait for their three days here to be over.

Later that day, just before dusk, Kakashi watched as Sakura fought off a large tiger. Well, fought was not the most accurate description for it. Toy would be more appropriate.

“Bad kitty!” Sakura said as her shadow tendrils slammed it through several trees.

“Don’t either of you find it disconcerting to watch sweet Sakura throw a tiger at least ten times her weight around like a child throwing a ragdoll?” Kakashi asked.

“Not really,” Shirou said. “I wonder what tiger meat tastes like.”

“Do we have enough space to store another pelt besides the bear?” Rin asked. “It would look nice in the house, like one of those homes of hunters with trophies of their kills. Also, do you think tiger meat is edible?”

“I wouldn’t try it,” Kakashi said. “ . tastes like whatever the bear’s last meal was. I wouldn’t resort to it unless we really are out of food.”

“Besides, the river is full of fish, so we don’t need to worry about that,” Shirou said. “And the fish aren’t even poisonous.”

They didn’t even flinch when the tiger’s limp form landed beside them, its neck snapped as Sakura made her way back to them. “So, what else are we hunting today?”

Kakashi thought about how many animals they had killed so far. At least a colony of cat-sized ants, along with their pony-sized queen, hundreds of giant leeches, that small group of centipedes earlier in the day, one tiger and one bear, both of which were sealed so that Rin could skin them for their pelts.

“I think we’re done for now,” Kakashi said as Shirou finished sealing the tiger. “Besides, we should leave some alive so that they can repopulate the place.”

“Do we even need a tiger fur rug?” Shirou asked. “Where would we even put it without ruining the whole feng shui of my house? Or do you want it for the Hyuuga mansion?”

“My living room could use a rug,” Sakura said. “For those cold winter months.”

“This is Konoha, we barely have snow for winter,” Shirou said.

“It would be a nice souvenir,” Rin said. “Besides, who else can say they brought back a tiger skin rug from their first C-rank?”

“You just want to use it to brag to everyone else,” Sakura said.

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask as they bickered. Yes, the next two days of camp would be anything but boring.

*End*

**Hmm, I think I’m going to write them going on a few more C-ranks before making them take the Chunin Exams. Still wondering exactly where the exams should take place though.**

**Omake (Re-watched FGO Babylonia and this came to mind. Unfortunately not canon.)**

Team Seven and their sensei were trekking through the Forest of Death. They were sweating as they walked through the dense forest.

“So muggy, so many mosquitos,” Rin groaned as she absentmindedly sliced a cherry sized mosquito in half with a kunai. “So hard to walk.”

“Please stay quiet for a while,” Sakura said. “You’re increasing the heat.”

Shirou didn’t say anything, but he was bothered by the heat as well.

Kakashi was leisurely walking behind them, not at all bothered by the heat. “Remind me to teach you how to regulate your body temperature with chakra later.”

“So this is the Forest of Death,” Shirou said. “The saving grace is that we haven’t encountered any beasts yet.”

“According to the map, we should be near the river soon,” Sakura said. “We can set up camp there.”

“That means we only have to endure the heat for a short while longer,” Shirou said.

“Next time, let’s hire a guide!” Rin said.

“What a commendable idea!” a voice said, catching their attention.

“You wimps won’t last a day without a guide!”

An orange figure jumped around them at great speed.

The four of them were on edge, wary of their unexpected guest. However, for three of them, that voice sounded really familiar.

“Who is there?” Rin asked.

“I am…” the voice said. “Um, what am I? A mysterious purrretty girl, I guess!”

“All right, I got it!” Kakashi said. “She’s a dummy!!!”

“I’m not a bunny!” the figure landed in front of them. “Why does everybody think I’m a bunny? I don’t get it!”

Fujimura Taiga in a tiger onesie stood in front of them, a paw-stick in her hand acting as a spear.

Shirou, Rin and Sakura were dumbfounded at the sight of their sister figure and former teacher in front of them.

“What is this strange creature?” Kakashi wondered. “Is it really an UMA? An Unidentified Mysterious Animal?”

“If anything,” Taiga said, “call meow an avatar of the jungle! An embodiment of great warriors! Jaguarman!”

She did a weird pose. “If you don’t fear these fangs, you can come right at me!”

“Jaguarman?” Shirou said. “Eh?”

“Hmm, you three look familiar,” Jaguarman said. “And the boy makes me want to go over and hug him for some reason, then demand he cook me dinner.”

“Fujimura-sensei!” Sakura managed to say. “What are you doing here?”

“Who is this Fujimura-sensei?” Jaguarman. “Who stands before you is Jaguarman! Guardian of this forest!”

Jaguarman easily jumped over Kakashi’s thrown kunai.

“Okay, I think I’ve got it!” Jaguarman said as she disappeared into the forest. “I will see you guys again! And I am not a tiger but a jaguar! That will be on your next test, so you’d better remember!”

“What in the world was that?” Kakashi wondered. He had seen his fair share of weird things, but that took the cake.

Shirou, Rin and Sakura were still trying to comprehend the sight of Fujimura Taiga in this world.

“You know,” Shirou said. “If she’s here, does that mean there are others from our world around as well?”

*Line Break*

In the Land of Snow, several shinobi were running as fast as they could. They were sent to investigate a disturbance in one of the villages in the country that was believed to be harbouring loyalists from the previous regime. What they found however was far more dangerous than a few samurai.

A white polar bear chased after them with a rider on its back. The rider was a girl who couldn’t be more than ten years old but was in reality far older. She was dressed in all white and had blue eyes that occasionally shifted to red.

“Shirou, after them!”

Illya von Einzbern or better yet, Servant Alter Ego Sitonai didn’t know why she had been summoned to this strange land, but she had a feeling she would find her answer soon enough. Probably had something to do with that little brother of hers. Honestly, a big sister's work was never done.

“How can someone so cute be so powerful?” a Yukigakure shinobi asked as he was trampled over by the polar bear.

*Line Break*

“Ohhohoho,” a blonde laughed haughtily as she put a Kumo shinobi in a head hold.

The shinobi of Kumogakure didn’t know who this woman dressed in gold and blue was. All they knew was that she suddenly appeared in the middle of the village and resisted all attempts to come quietly for interrogation.

So far, the attempts to arrest her were going poorly.

“Who else wants to challenge my scales of judgement?” Luvia, now Servant Ruler Astraea asked. “Who thinks they can best me in combat?”

Omoi ducked as he saw the unknown throw another shinobi over his head. Samui and Karui, the members of his team were nearby as they watched the best shinobi of Kumogakure get soundly trounced by one woman.

“Who is that?” Omoi asked. “She’s a blonde woman with unimaginable beauty and unparalleled strength. Is she Tsunade of the Sannin? Does that mean we’re at war with Konoha? If we’re at war, does that mean we’ll be sent to fight soon? What about her? Will she turn her eyes towards us and kill us? Will…”

“Shut up!” Karui hit Omoi over the head to shut him up.

Samui turned towards Killer B, their sensei. “Sensei, she’s beating up anyone who tries to arrest her. Shouldn’t you do something about it?”

“Hmm.” Killer B observed as Yugito was knocked back, Bijuu cloak and all into a nearby building. She didn’t even seem fazed when she slapped away the Jinchuriki of the Nibi like she was a naughty kitten.

**“B, whoever this woman is, I sense a large amount of divinity from her! She’s quite possibly a goddess,”** the Hachibi, Gyuuki warned.

“The No. 8 says she’s a goddess, and so we better be cautious. She slapped away Yugito like a naughty feline, looking quite !” B rapped.

“Now isn’t the time!” his students and the Hachibi yelled.

“That was terrible,” Astraea said. “Flattering, but terrible. I judge you with terrible rapping and sentence you to being beat up by me. Rejoice, for your punishment shall come from the hands of a goddess!”

Kumogakure was not having a good time in its first experience with the divine. The only reason Astraea left was because the Raikage managed to make her sweat for one brief second. After asking for directions to Konoha, she was on her way, leaving a trail of beaten but still alive Kumo shinobi behind. They would live, but their prides were shattered.

**You have no idea how hard it was to write the rap for Killer B.**


	16. Chapter 15

**This chapter could have been finished last week, but last week was Finals week for me so I had to focus on that.**

**Christmas came early for me, for the Gacha has blessed me. I got Atalante, both versions of Martha and three Bradamante, in three ten rolls.**

**Of course, my luck promptly returned to normal and the rest of my rolls for that day got me nothing but three stars and CEs. Ah well, NP3 Bradamante is still a win in my book.**

**Betaed by Danga.**

Chapter 15

The people of Konoha often idolized the Hokages that have led their village throughout the decades it had been established. However, as leaders of a shinobi village, their less reputable work was often glossed over in favour of the glory they brought in battle.

In the case of the Nidaime Hokage, Senju Tobirama, he was as much a researcher as he was a warrior, administrator and leader. One of the places he used as his research centres was hidden within the Forest of Death. The remote location and the fact that people avoided it unless necessary helped with the secrecy.

The abundance of natural defences and the fact that no one would think to look there made it a perfect location for a hidden research base. Unfortunately before the Nidaime's untimely demise, he failed to inform his students of the location of the place, nor the fact that he had an experiment still ongoing in there.

Even now, decades after his death, said experiment slumbered. The many Chunin Exams held within the place failed to stir it as chunin hopefuls rarely passed anywhere near the entrance. The more exotic defences guarding and hiding it from curious eyes also kept any that did come near from noticing anything out of place.

For decades after the Nidaime’s death, the abandoned research base laid forgotten, the experiment living within remained inactive. At least until now.

XXXXX

“I wonder if one of Anko’s snake summons laid a clutch of eggs here,” Shirou mused as they watched the bonfire they started. They had found a snake’s nest with newly hatched snakes, except these newly hatched snakes were each the size of pythons and their mother was the size of a train with several dozen cars attached.

“I’m not sure,” Kakashi said. “Those snakes weren’t smart enough to have come from the summoning realms. And they were too big anyway.”

“Don’t some summons reach the height of mountains?” Rin asked.

“Oh, you guys have never seen a boss summon before, have you?” Kakashi said. “Well, usually they are born about the same size as their normal counterparts. It’s during their adolescence when they really start growing.”

“Do you have a summoning contract, sensei?” Sakura asked.

“I do,” Kakashi said. “I have one with a pack of dogs. The dog contract is unique in that you don’t have one with the species as a whole, like the toads or snakes, but with an individual pack.”

“Hmm, how does one go about acquiring a summoning contract?” Rin asked.

“A few ways, the most common one is via inheritance or apprenticeships,” Kakashi said. “Mine was passed down through my family. The monkeys are passed down the Sarutobi main family. The toads were passed down from Jiraiya-sama to his student, the Yondaime.”

“But what about if you don’t have one to inherit?” Rin asked.

“Well, I suppose you could try doing the hand seals and let whatever contract you have the most affinity with reverse summon you instead,” Kakashi said. “That was how the Sannin did it. It’s risky though, since the summons don’t have to agree to have you as their summoner and might kill you. Not to mention chakra intensive, depending on what you plan to summon.”

“Quite different from familiars then,” Shirou said.

“Yeah,” Rin said. “More like a Servant contract, except you don’t get three Command Spells to make them follow your orders.”

“Oh? So you have experience with something similar?” Kakashi asked.

“Hmm, I wouldn’t say similar,” Shirou said. How did one go about explaining the Holy Grail War to someone without context?

Sakura stopped as she sensed something off about their current location.

“Sakura-chan, is something wrong?” Kakashi asked.

“I don’t know, sensei,” Sakura said. She pointed downwards. “But there’s something here.”

Kakashi narrowed his eye on the location. Nothing seemed out of place to him, yet his years of experience told him that his student was right. Something was off about their location, and Kakashi didn’t live to the ripe old age of twenty-five by ignoring his instincts.

“Rin, could you use your Byakugan to check it out?” Kakashi asked.

“Yes, sensei,” Rin said. “Byakugan!”

The veins around Rin’s eyes bulged as she activated her clan’s famed bloodline. Rin frowned as she looked around with her eyes. She focused on the ground, where she began noticing what Sakura had sensed.

“I think there’s a base of sorts buried here,” Rin said. “It’s all blurry and hard to make out, like someone used an older version of those obscuring seals to block the Byakugan. But who would have a base here?”

“Well, we are in one of the less frequented parts of the place,” Kakashi said. “And most chunin hopefuls generally try to get out of here as soon as possible so they’re unlikely to have spotted anything.”

“Should we investigate?” Shirou asked.

“Uh, guys,” Rin said as she looked straight down. “I think we’re standing over the…”

Before she could finish her sentence, the ground beneath the four of them gave away and they fell through the entrance tunnel.

XXXXX

The four of them, being shinobi and rather skilled ones at that, had long since mastered the art of always landing on their feet. So, when the ground beneath them gave away and sent them falling down a deep tunnel, they managed to reorient themselves so that they landed on their feet, ready for anything that might come after them.

They were less ready for the dust they kicked up upon landing.

“Cough… Are you guys ok?” Sakura asked.

“I’m ok,” Shirou said. “Can’t see anything though.”

“Give me a moment,” Rin said. Her hand lit up with a simple illumination spell, lightning up the dark. The light soon turned into a ball that floated to the top of the place, staying there like a floating lantern.

“Well, this is interesting,” Kakashi said as he looked around the now dimly lit facility. It bore a disturbing amount of resemblance to Orochimaru’s hidden laboratories that he had raided before.

 **‘Sakura,’** BB suddenly said to Sakura. **‘Whatever this place is, be careful. I sense a large amount of malicious intent around here.’**

‘Malicious intent?’ Sakura asked.

 **‘I’m not sure what happened here, but it left an impression,’** BB said.

“I think we should be careful,” Sakura said out loud.

“That goes without saying,” Shirou said. He looked up the tunnel they fell through. He could barely see the top, with how much sunlight was obscured by the thick forest. “How deep down are we?”

“Deep enough that I’m not sure if we can jump out,” Kakashi said. He looked at the remains of a broken ladder, the remains covered in rust. On a hunch, Kakashi tried sticking his hand to the side of the tunnel with chakra. “And the tunnel probably has seals that keep people from walking up it using chakra.”

“I think I can shoot up a rope tied to an arrow if we need to get out,” Shirou said.

“Good thinking,” Kakashi complimented.

“Well, this is already going splendidly,” Rin said. She found a table with some scattered books and files on it. “Maybe these will give us some clues.”

Rin blew off the dust and started reading. After a glance, she frowned as her eyes scanned over it.

“Is something wrong?” Shirou asked.

“The ink has faded,” Rin said. “But I did get a date. 5 years after founding.”

Kakashi thought about that. “That’s during the First Shinobi World War. This must be one of those bases lost to time.”

Kakashi grabbed one of the papers and read it. “Hmm, the ink is almost gone. The conditions down here must not have done much to preserve them. But I think I can still make out some of the words on it. Seems like this place was used for experimentation.”

“Experimentation? Human experimentation?” Sakura asked with a frown.

“Possibly,” Kakashi said. “Despite our reputation, Konoha isn’t any nicer than the other villages. We have our fair share of skeletons. We just understand that airing it for the world to see won’t get you as many clients as you’d like and that there are better ways to accomplish what you want. Though human experimentation has been banned by the Sandaime when he took office.”

“So, this is from before his reign then,” Shirou said. “Think this place might have belonged to the Nidaime? He was known to be a researcher.”

“And this would be the ideal place to put a secret research facility,” Kakashi said. “ANBU doesn’t patrol here. Neither does the Uchiha Military Police. In fact, outside of the Chunin Exams, no one really comes here.”

“But before the end of the Third War, Konoha held its own exams here annually,” Rin pointed out. “Surely some team would have stumbled upon this place by accident.”

“Didn’t we stumble upon the entrance and think nothing of it until Sakura told us that she sensed something was off?” Shirou said. “Maybe there was a barrier of sorts that warded off any suspicion.”

“That’s some high level Fuinjutsu,” Kakashi said. “But not beyond someone of the Nidaime’s calibre.”

They stopped as they heard something.

“We’re not alone,” Kakashi said with a narrowed eye.

Shirou traced Kanshou and Bakuya, just in case whatever was in there with them was hostile.

“Rin, send up a flare to alert Konoha that something is wrong,” Kakashi ordered. “We might need back up.”

“Alright!” Rin pointed her hand up the hole and shot up a flare spell.

“Sakura, do you sense anything?” Kakashi asked.

 **‘The ambient malice in this place is too dense,’** BB said. **‘I can’t get an accurate read on our surroundings.’**

Sakura frowned. “Nothing concrete.”

“We’ll just have to be ready for anything then,” Shirou said. He closed his eyes and reinforced his ears. “I think I know where the sound is coming from.”

“It’ll take a while for anyone to respond,” Kakashi said. The Forest of Death was quite out of the way of the parts of the village where people lived. “Investigate but be very careful about it.”

They walked through the base slowly, Rin’s spell the only source of light for them. The whole place resembled an older style research base, with apparatus neatly placed on tables, several shelves full of books and files, all covered in decades worth of dust.

They soon came across a locked steel door. The door was a heavily secured one, with several heavy-duty locks on it, the kind that required special keys and were pick proof. However, the years have worn away at it, since the whole door was rusted.

BANG!

“Whatever’s behind that door doesn’t sound friendly,” Kakashi said. He lifted up his forehead protector, his implanted Sharingan glowing in the dimly lit base. He didn’t know what would come out of that door, but he’d rather be safe than sorry.

BANG!

“Hello!” Sakura yelled. “Is anyone there?”

BANG!

“Either they can’t reply, or they won’t,” Rin said. “And I can’t see through the door too.”

BANG!

“That door won’t hold for much longer,” Shirou said.

They backed away from the door, so that if it kicked flying off its hinges, it wouldn’t knock over them.

BANG!

Rin’s hand lit up, prepared to send a Gandr. Sakura had several shadow tendrils ready to restrain whatever came out from the other side of that door. Shirou held his swords up higher in preparation while Kakashi unsheathed his White Light Chakra Sabre.

BANG!

The door came flying off its hinges, crashing several metres away. What came out however, shocked them all.

“What is that!?” Sakura asked.

“RRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!”

XXXXX

Hiruzen sighed as he placed his signature on yet another piece of paper. Itachi quietly took it and put it in the correct folder, before going over some paperwork of his own. Hiruzen had delegated some of his duties over to the young Uchiha, so that he had an idea of what he would be getting into in a few years.

His secretary opened the door. “Hokage-sama, Shikaku-sama is here to see you.”

“Let him in,” Hiruzen said. He could use a break. He wondered what Shikaku was here for, since he didn’t have an appointment, nor did he order his presence.

“Hard at work, Hokage-sama?” Shikaku said upon entering, looking at the stacks of paperwork on the desk.

“Oh, you know, the usual,” Hiruzen said. “Now, did you come here for idle chit chat or was there something you needed to tell me?”

“Yes,” Shikaku said. “It’s about the upcoming Chunin Exams. I have some concerns about where it’s located.”

“Read the invitation from Kumogakure I take it,” Hiruzen said.

“Yes,” Shikaku said. “Do we risk it? You know which team will definitely be going. They already attempted a bloodline theft once. What’s to stop them when their targets are right in their village?”

“Are you referring to the Hyuuga Affair?” Itachi asked. “If so, I thought the Raikage didn’t approve of the mission and that relations between us have since then normalized.”

“Itachi is right,” Hiruzen said. “Relations have warmed a bit since then. Not to mention our numbers have recovered from both the last war and the Kyuubi attack. Besides, Kakashi will be there too in case anyone tries anything.”

Before Shikaku could reply, they were interrupted by an ANBU agent appearing in front of the Hokage’s desk. “Forgive me for the interruption, Hokage-sama, but a flare has been seen coming from the Forest of Death.”

Shikaku paled. That was where Sakura and her team were for their first C-rank.

“Itachi, assemble whoever is available and get them in here now!” Hiruzen ordered. Itachi wasted no time in following that order.

“I’m leading them,” Shikaku said. His tone indicating he would not take no for an answer.

“Very well,” Hiruzen said. “But what could they have encountered that Kakashi couldn’t handle?”

“Who knows,” Shikaku said. “Even after all this time, that damn place still has ways of surprising us. I can only hope they can hold out before we arrive.”

XXXXX 

The figure that had emerged from the other side of the door was humanoid, but they would hesitate to label it human. Its entire skin was a stone grey under the light of Rin’s spell. There wasn’t a strand of hair on its head and the physique indicated that it was male.

The figure was at least 2 and a half metres tall, with bulging muscles all over his body. The only clothing on him were pants that looked to be barely holding together.

The most unique feature though, were his eyes. They were a pure black and held nothing but rage and anger in them.

“ROOOOAAAARRRR!!!”

“That was intelligible,” Kakashi said. “Sakura, restrain him!”

“Hai!” Sakura’s shadow tendrils immediately wrapped around him, Rin firing her Gandr at him several times.

The shadow tendrils couldn’t hold him and were snapped with some effort by the man. Rin’s Gandr did even less, the man not even feeling them, and Shirou knew from experience that they could punch through stone.

“This is like fighting Berserker all over again,” Shirou said as he replaced his swords for his bow. Several arrows peppered the man and exploded.

“ROOOAAARRR!!!”

“Pull back!” Kakashi yelled. He got in close and slashed at the man’s neck with his sabre. Kakashi’s eyes widened in surprise when the sword merely clanged off the grey skin and ducked under the punch that came at him. Jumping back, Kakashi covered his sword with lightning natured chakra, managing to cut a light gash across his chest. Kakashi noticed that the cut he inflicted simply closed up with several paperlike flakes of dust materializing over the wound.

Kakashi was soon set upon by it with a flurry of attacks. Kakashi dodged them, noticing that while each punch held great power, easily capable of breaking bones, they were executed with no real skill.

Kakashi broke free of the melee, cutting off a hand to do so. The man wasn’t bothered by the loss of a limb, the severed hand dematerializing into those paperlike flakes and reforming on the man’s stump.

“Ok, now this is really like fighting Berserker all over again,” Rin said with worry.

Shirou slid under the man and brought his swords up. He sliced off the man’s right leg, or at least attempted to. Like when his sensei tried it without coating his sword in lightning natured chakra, the swords merely bounced off his skin.

Dozens of shadow tendrils emerged from the darkness to restrain the man. Several shadow giants rose from the ground and ran forward, holding him down.

“ROOOOAAARRR!!!”

The shadow giants were thrown off and the shadow restraints broken as the man got up once again. Sakura’s shadow tendrils twisted together and punched it, sending it staggering back.

“He has great durability and strength,” Kakashi said. “I think it’s a bloodline limit from one of the clans of Iwagakure.”

“What’s an Iwa shinobi doing in Konoha?” Rin shouted as she ducked under a thrown table. She threw several kunai at him, all charged with lightning nature chakra which pierced its stone like skin but did little to no damage.

“Looks like Lightning Release techniques can get around his durability,” Shirou said.

“But it just regenerates its injuries afterwards,” Kakashi said as he kicked it away and into a wall. Several arrows from Shirou that Rin had coated with lightning chakra pierced its skin throughout his body, pinning it to the wall.

The man merely roared and ripped himself out of the wall, arrows still lodged inside his body.

“Any ideas on how we can kill him?” Sakura asked.

Rin threw three jewels over him which shattered and formed a barrier, trapping him.

The man roared once again and started beating against the translucent barrier with his fist.

“That should hold him for a while,” Rin said.

“Hmm, harming him isn’t the problem,” Kakashi said. “We can manage that. But his regeneration means that none of our attacks are doing any permanent damage.”

“What if we blew him up enough that he has nothing to reform from?” Shirou suggested.

“Not in here,” Kakashi said. “We’re in an underground complex. We can’t risk any of our attacks collapsing the place on us.”

“We have to take the fight to the surface then,” Sakura said.

“As if this place didn’t have enough things that could kill you,” Rin said.

Shirou didn’t say anything. He traced an arrow with a long rope tied to its shaft and shot it up the tunnel they fell through. The arrow soon lodged itself on a tree branch and Shirou pulled on it to make sure it was stable.

“The three of you, get out!” Kakashi ordered. “I’ll go last in case the barrier breaks before you all escape!”

The three didn’t argue. They figured they could trust their sensei to know what he was doing. In less than a minute, they were once again on the surface.

“Sensei, we’re up!” Shirou yelled. “Get out of there!”

Kakashi looked up at the hole, then back at the barrier caging the man.

CRACK!!!

“Time to bug out,” Kakashi mumbled to himself. Sheathing his sword, he grabbed the rope and started climbing up.

“ROOOOAAARRR!!!”

The barrier shattered and the man ran towards where Kakashi was. He pulled himself up in time and the man overshot him.

‘That was close,’ Kakashi thought as he started climbing up faster. As soon as he was close to the surface, a shadow tendril wrapped itself around him and pulled him up faster.

The man ran to where the tunnel was and looked up. He roared and jumped up before any of them could think about collapsing the tunnel.

“How strong is this thing?” Rin asked as he landed in front of them.

“At least he’s not as monstrously strong as Berserker,” Shirou said as he ducked away from a wild swing of his arms.

“I never fought Berserker. I don’t know how strong he was,” Sakura said as she sent more shadow giants after it. She tried using her clan's Shadow Possession Technique on it, but she couldn’t hold him in place for more than a second despite catching him in it perfectly. It was just too strong for her.

“Think of this guy as a watered down version of him, regeneration and all,” Shirou said. Rin did something that covered Shirou’s twin swords in an aura. The spell greatly increased their cutting power as he cut off the man’s right leg, just above the knee.

The man roared as he was brought to the ground.

“Well, if you survived that, I’m sure we’ll figure out how to put this thing down for good,” Kakashi said as he prepared to trap it with an Earth Release jutsu.

“So, how long do you think it’ll take for reinforcements to get here?” Rin asked.

Kakashi made a rat seal.

“Earth Release: Bedrock Coffin!”

The earth around the man rose up and completely surrounded him. The earth hardened and trapped him under layers of hard rock like a coffin.

The earth shook as the man trapped inside started pounding on it to break free.

“That won’t hold for long,” Kakashi said with worry. He put in a solid amount of chakra into it, and he was already starting to feel the drain of using his Sharingan.

“It’ll hold long enough,” Shirou said, having put some distance between himself and the man. “Get clear!”

Rin and Sakura needed no prompting as they realized what Shirou was about to do. Kakashi followed his two female students, curious about what Shirou was about to do.

Shirou gazed upon the earth coffin that held their foe, standing on a tree branch several hundred metres away. It was time to bring out the big guns.

**“I am the bone of my sword.”**

A sword appeared in his right hand. Instead of a flat blade like in any other sword, its blade was drill like in shape and the handle was coloured in emerald and gold.

A sword out of Irish legend. A spiral rainbow sword. It was renowned for having blown the tops of three small hills by its wielder in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, an Irish epic that could be compared to the Greek Iliad.

Caladbolg: The Rainbow Sword.

Shirou notched the sword as if he would an arrow. He used Alteration on the sword, making its shape more arrow-like. Then he overloaded it with magical energy and turned it into a Broken Phantasm. He took aim at the earth coffin.

Inside the earth coffin, the man roared as he kept punching the walls trapping him. His great strength causing cracks to appear all over the rock prison.

Shirou didn’t release the arrow. ‘Not yet. Wait until he breaks free.’

The earth coffin shattered and released the man imprisoned within.

“ROOOOAAAARRRR!!!”

“Caladbolg!” Shirou released the Broken Phantasm, the arrow streaking through the Forest of Death like a comet and hit the man right in the chest.

The entire area around the man exploded and soon a red hemisphere of energy surrounded the immediate area. Winds blew from the shockwave of the Broken Phantasm detonating, capable of being felt from kilometres away.

Trees, some decades old, were uprooted and sent flying. Those that were within the blast radius were just destroyed outright. The earth was scorched black as a deafening explosion reshaped the landscape.

“How much were you holding back during my test?” Kakashi asked as he watched the aftermath of Shirou’s attack.

“Not that much,” Rin said. “Shirou’s the only one of us that can shoot out weapons of mass destruction like a cheap bargain sale.”

“That resembles a Tailed Beast Bomb,” Kakashi said. “And you’re saying he can do that several times?”

“Not exactly,” Sakura said. “Weapons like that take a lot out of him. Maybe two or three in succession, but he would be wiped out immediately.”

“More if either of us supply him with energy,” Rin said. “Sensei, you’ve seen a Tailed Beast Bomb before?”

“Once,” Kakashi said. “During that night.”

“Ah.” The two girls didn’t need to ask what night he meant. A decade later and the events of that night were still vivid in the minds of villagers old enough to have experienced it.

Shirou landed on the branch they were on. “Well, think that got him?”

“Let’s go check it out,” Kakashi said. “Also, warn me next time when you’re about to reshape the land.”

XXXXX

“This has to be a record for how quickly a mission went to hell,” Anko mused as she and several other shinobi entered the Forest of Death, not even bothering to unlock the gate, just kicking it open.

As soon as the flare was seen, Itachi came across her and Yugao who had just returned from a classified mission. Yugao was going to hand in her mission report while Anko had an appointment to give the Hokage his daily intel brief on anything new that Intelligence had recovered.

Itachi told them to report to the Hokage’s office immediately. They didn’t even get to ask him what had happened before he left to search for others. Of course, they found out soon enough and here they were.

“I swear, those three get in trouble like it’s nobody’s business,” Yugao said, masking her worry as she followed after the resident expert of the Forest of Death.

“Relax,” Anko said. “They can handle themselves plus they have Kakashi with them. Though I wonder what they found that they felt the need to signal for reinforcements?”

“Sakura will be the death of me, I just know it,” Yugao mumbled. “Making me worry.”

“Oh, you’re just annoyed that you had to respond to an emergency within minutes of returning to the village,” Anko said.

Yugao was in fact annoyed that she was deployed on a long mission when her niece was about to graduate. So not only did she not get to see her niece graduate, she also didn’t get to see her off on her first C-rank.

Hell, she didn’t even manage to get any time with Hayate, which she was planning to after handling in her mission report. Of course, when she found out it was probably Sakura’s team that sent it up, she didn’t hesitate to volunteer.

“Should you be with us, Shikaku-sama?” Itachi asked.

The Jounin Commander was indeed with them and was the leader of the entire response team they cobbled together from whatever available shinobi that were within the vicinity of the Hokage’s tower. The team in the end consisted of one Jounin Commander, the Hokage’s apprentice, one ANBU agent, one tokubetsu jounin and three chunins that were about to ask for a mission.

“Well, it’s letting me escape my paperwork for a little while,” Shikaku said. “So there’s that.”

“And the fact that your precious little niece might be in danger has nothing to do with it, boss?” Anko said.

Before Shikaku could reply, they noticed several of the forest’s inhabitants running in their direction. They prepared to fight but were surprised as they all ran or flew past them. They soon found out what the animals were running from when a massive explosion could be heard, and they were forced to brace against the shockwave that followed.

“What was that!” one of the chunins asked.

They looked up at the glowing hemisphere of red energy that soon dissipated.

“That was an impressively powerful explosion,” Itachi commented.

“Well, guess we know where they are now,” Shikaku said. “Let’s go! Double time!”

“A Nara telling us to double time,” another chunin mumbled. “Nothing about today makes sense.”

XXXXX

“No way,” Rin said in disbelief as they were in the epicentre of where Caladbolg had detonated.

The man was in the middle of a large crater, limbs torn off, head and torso burned like overcooked pork. However, it was still regenerating, albeit slowly. Paper like flecks of dust appeared over its wounds and patching it up as if it did not just take enough force to destroy several hills.

His skin, however, was no longer grey, having returned to a more normal brown after being blown up.

“Right, looks like killing him is still out,” Kakashi said. “We’ll have to seal him instead.”

Sakura had her shadow tendrils rip the man apart, being able to penetrate his skin now that his bloodline limit was no longer active. Shirou Traced several longswords, stabbing them through the man’s body and head as added insurance. The fact that he roared afterwards showed that even having a sword through where his brain should be wasn’t enough to put him down.

“Looks like reinforcements are here,” Rin said. “Sakura’s uncle is leading them. Yugao and Anko are with them too.”

The team led by Shikaku stopped near them.

“Kakashi, what the hell happened here?” Shikaku asked. He took one look at the restrained man and the way his limbs were regenerating, somehow still roaring despite having a sword through his skull, easily deducing that it had something to do with why they called for help. Oh, and the giant, blacked out crater they were all standing in. Yes, couldn’t forget about the crater the size of a football field.

The four of them looked at each other.

“Well sir, it’s a long story,” Kakashi said. “Also, do you think you could send for a Fuinjutsu specialist? We can’t keep holding him like this forever.”

Shikaku snorted and pointed at one of the chunin with them. “Go report to the Hokage that the situation is under control and request for a Fuinjutsu specialist.”

“Yes, Shikaku-sama,” the chunin said before leaving.

Itachi stepped forward and looked at the man with his Sharingan. “Interesting. I can’t make heads or tails of what this thing is. He does not seem to be alive.”

“Yeah, we figured that out after he survived being blown up,” Rin said.

“Think you could put him under a Genjutsu?” Shikaku asked.

“I can try,” Itachi said. “Though we might have to remove the sword through his head.”

Shirou cancelled that one sword, allowing Itachi to make eye contact with the man. He looked the man in the eye with his Sharingan, using his eyes ability to place others under a Genjutsu using sight alone.

Slowly, the man stopped struggling and was unconscious. Sakura cautiously released him from her shadows, Shirou doing the same with the remaining swords in his body and they all moved forward to take a closer look. The limbs and wounds were all regenerating, but otherwise he stayed unconscious.

“There was a tunnel that led to a secret research facility a little bit that way,” Kakashi told the newcomers. “It’s where we first met our friend over here before we led him out here. I’m not sure if the entrance is still intact after the explosion.”

“I’m on it,” Anko said. “I can’t believe I never found anything like that in all my time here.”

Now that there weren’t any pressing concerns, Shikaku and Yugao turned to look at their niece and her friends.

“None of you are injured, are you?” Yugao asked in concern.

“We’re fine, oba-san,” Sakura said. “Just a bit winded.”

“No injuries here,” Shirou said. “That thing was strong, but not that agile. None of us were hit.”

“He fought like a mindless beast,” Kakashi said. “If he actually had a mind, we would have had far more trouble dealing with him, on top of the regeneration.”

“Thank the kami,” Rin said. She remembered how Berserker had fought against Saber, great strength combined with skill that weren’t dulled despite the Madness Enhancement. Such a combination would be very difficult to beat.

“You two, guard this thing with Itachi until further reinforcements arrive,” Shikaku ordered the remaining chunin and Itachi. “The rest of us will head to this base Kakashi’s team found to investigate further.”

“Yes, Shikaku-sama,” the chunin and Itachi said.

Kakashi and his students led them towards the tunnel they fell through, the rope still there. Anko was already down below using a flashlight to illuminate the place.

“Yo! Anyone with a more powerful light?” Anko asked from below. “It’s very dark down here.”

“Give me a sec,” Rin said as she recast her earlier spell and sent it down.

“Right,” Shikaku said. “Yugao, you stay up here with the genin. Kakashi and I will go down to meet with Anko.”

“Yes, sir,” Yugao said.

Kakashi and Shikaku disappeared down the tunnel, leaving the ANBU agent and the three genin to guard the entrance.

“So, how has your first week as genin been?” Yugao asked the three.

“It’s been alright so far,” Sakura said. “Also, we learned to never let Lee have anything remotely alcoholic.”

Yugao thought about that name. “Isn’t that Gai’s apprentice?”

“That’s the one,” Rin said. “We were celebrating passing the genin test together in a new restaurant for lunch. One of the waiters accidentally gave Lee a cup of sake and he went berserk while drunk. It took all five of us to hold him down! Five of us!”

“We spent the next few days paying off the damages using our mission paychecks,” Shirou said.

“Good thing none of you really need them,” Yugao said, amused. “How’s Kakashi-senpai as a sensei? He hasn’t been coming late all the time, has he?”

They’re eyes twitched a bit at that.

_Sorry I’m late. I was walking my dogs when the leash broke and I had to chase after them._

_Sorry I’m late. An old lady needed help crossing the street with her groceries and invited me for snacks as thanks. Naturally, I couldn’t turn her down and she ended up telling me stories until now._

_Sorry I’m late. I forgot to set my alarm clock and overslept._

“Forget I asked,” Yugao said, noticing the looks on their faces.

“Honestly, he’s not half bad as a sensei,” Sakura said. “He gives good advice on how we can improve ourselves and makes us think of new ways to use our abilities.”

“Well, it’s good to hear that Kakashi-kun hasn’t been a disappointment as a jounin sensei,” Hiruzen said all of a sudden.

“Hokage-sama!” They were all surprised at his sudden appearance, none of them seeing or hearing him coming.

“How did you do that?” Shirou asked.

“When you reach your sixth decade as a shinobi, you learn a few tricks,” Hiruzen said, amused at their reactions. He should do this more often.

“What are you doing here, Hokage-sama?” Yugao asked.

“Well, you needed a Fuinjutsu specialist to deal with whatever came out of this place, so I decided to volunteer myself,” Hiruzen said. “Rest assured, that he has been sealed and is being transported to a secure location under ANBU guard. Now, what do we have here?”

“Is that Hokage-sama?” Shikaku asked from the bottom of the tunnel.

“I am here, Shikaku,” Hiruzen replied. “What’s the situation down there?”

“A mess,” Shikaku said. “It’s better if you come down yourself.”

“Very well,” Hiruzen said. He turned towards the genin. “Expect an increase in mission ranking after this. Otherwise, good work.”

The Hokage descended down the tunnel towards the facility.

As soon as he landed, he quickly noticed the ball of light that hung above the roof. Probably something Rin-chan came up with to aid them.

The facility was a mess, thrown tables and cabinets, cracked floors and walls all showed that a fight had taken place down here recently.

“Yo, old man,” Anko greeted.

“Anko,” Hiruzen greeted, not at all perturbed by the informal way of greeting. “What have you found so far?”

“This place is almost as old as you are,” Anko said. “It dates back to the First War and I think this was the Nidaime’s research base according to the files and documents we found.”

“Sensei’s research base?” Hiruzen said. “Hmm, I supposed it isn’t that surprising. Sensei was a paranoid man and a base right in the middle of his brother’s personal garden would fit right in with his personality.”

“So this place was created by the Shodaime,” Kakashi said. “Good to know.”

Shikaku walked towards them. “Hokage-sama, I think you should take a look at this.”

Hiruzen accepted the document Shikaku gave him and read it.

_Test subject Kinniku Kazuo has exhibited no negative effects upon reanimation using Edo Tensei. Modifications to the jutsu appear to have removed any trace of his personality, however he retains the knowledge to move and fight, to a limited extent. Interestingly, he appears to still possess his clan’s bloodline limit of great strength and in fact, seems more akin to a berserker than a shinobi. More assessments required._

“Kinniku… Kinniku, that name sounds familiar,” Anko said.

“It should,” Hiruzen said. “It belongs to the former Kinniku clan of Iwagakure, which went extinct during the end of the First War. Guess this was one of the places sensei experimented with his forbidden jutsu.”

“Resurrection?” Kakashi said with disgust.

“Well, sensei had far less scruples than his brother ever did, though I agree that this was one of his worst legacies,” Hiruzen said. “Were there any signs of anyone having entered here before Kakashi’s team stumbled upon it?”

“None that we’ve seen,” Shikaku said. “Though with the fight having contaminated the scene, I can’t be certain. We’ll need a dedicated investigative team to handle this.”

“Intelligence or police?” Kakashi asked. “Both divisions have investigation teams.”

“Intelligence,” Hiruzen said. “This is outside of the Uchiha’s jurisdiction and should be handled as such. This whole place will have to be classified and sealed off as well until we’ve cleared it. Don’t worry, I sent my ANBU guarding Kazuo’s sealed body to get a team to come here.”

“You know, I think we should re-designate your team as Team Trouble,” Shikaku groused to Kakashi. “Cause those three seem to stumble across it like an Akimichi to an all you can eat buffet.”

“It’s the number,” Hiruzen said sagely. “Team Sevens throughout the years seem to be destined to have interesting mission records. I remember my students first C-rank. It somehow ended up with them taking down a corrupt town official and fighting off several mercenaries.”

“How did you find the time to take them on missions when you were Hokage at the time?” Anko asked.

“Oh, I didn’t,” Hiruzen said. “I asked Koharu to lead them in my place. It would have been Danzo, but he was already in charge of ANBU at that point. She never stopped complaining about it to me afterwards.”

“Then there was Minato-kun’s first C-rank,” Hiruzen said nostalgically.

“I remember them coming back to the village with a haunted expression,” Shikaku said. “Anytime we asked them, they would tell us to never bring it up again. Of course, we later found out they ended up having to hide in a brothel from one of Jiraiya’s enemies, which they had to fight anyway and ended up with the working ladies of the establishment trying to ‘thank’ them.”

Anko snickered. “The Yondaime almost got his cherry popped on his first C-rank? Hilarious.”

“Kushina was all huffy about it for a month,” Hiruzen said. “It was adorable. And then, there was Kakashi’s.”

Kakashi paled. “Don’t bring that up!”

“Bad memories?” Anko asked.

“Very bad,” Kakashi said. “In fact, so bad that if I could convince them to do it, I’d have the Yamanaka clan erase it from my mind.”

“That made for interesting reading,” Hiruzen said. “Anyway, where is that Intelligence team?”

They soon got their answer as Shirou shouted down the hole. “Hokage-sama, sensei, there are several shinobi and ANBU here!”

“We’ll leave it to them,” Hiruzen said. “In the meantime, Kakashi, you and your team report to my office for a formal verbal debriefing.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” they said. They left, letting the newly arrived of shinobi comb over the place.

XXXXX

“So that’s what happened,” Hiruzen said. “You were proceeding with your mission, entering the second day when you stumbled upon sensei’s forgotten research base.”

“That’s right,” Kakashi said.

“Which you then investigated, awakening whatever experiment that sensei kept in there before he was left there to be forgotten for decades, fighting him, sending up a flare, bringing him to the surface and then Shirou blew him and a large part of the Forest of Death with an arrow.”

“Actually, it was a sword that I used as an arrow,” Shirou said.

“Noted,” Hiruzen said. “From there on, you entered the blast zone to find the experiment severely mutilated but still alive and regenerating, which you then restrained until Shikaku’s team arrived.”

“Yup,” Rin said.

Hiruzen sighed. “I wonder if it’s a curse? My team, Minato’s team and now Kakashi’s seem to always have crazy first C-ranks.”

“I wonder if all our C-ranks will get this out of hand?” Sakura wondered.

“It better not,” Hiruzen grumbled. “The paperwork it generates is horrendous. Anyway, your mission has been upgraded to a B-rank, and your pay subsequently increased to match it. It is also considered classified so you may not discuss it with your family or friends. I’ll consider the mission accomplished even though you haven’t completed culling the whole place. Get some rest. I expect your written mission reports in a week.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” they said before leaving.

Hiruzen leaned into his chair. “At least I got to leave the office for a while and brush up on my Fuinjutsu skills. But was that the only secret base in the village? Damnit sensei, how many secrets did you keep?”

He looked at the picture of the past and present Hokages hung on the wall. Looking from his two senseis to his short-lived successor and father of one Uzumaki Naruto.

“It should be you dealing with this bullshit, Minato,” Hiruzen said. “I can’t wait for Itachi to be ready. He should be ready to take the hat in another two years when he turns twenty. He’s built up a lot of trust among his peers, has the support of the strongest shinobi in the village and the heads of various departments. Hell, even Hiashi admits grudgingly that he wouldn’t mind following him.”

His secretary entered his office, stacks of paper in her hands. “Sorry for barging in, Hokage-sama. But the paperwork for today’s incident has arrived.”

Hiruzen groaned. No time for reminiscing. Once more, with pen in hand, he shall return to his endless battle with his eternal bane.

XXXXX

“So, what do you make of that… person,” Shirou asked his teammates.

“Tough,” Sakura said. “I can’t believe my shadows couldn’t pierce his skin.”

“Stone Body,” Kakashi said. “That’s the name of the bloodline limit. It belongs to the Kinniku clan of Iwagakure. Well at least it used to before they went extinct. As you three have seen, their durability wasn’t absolute and Lightning Release techniques could punch through their skin with ease.”

“And the regeneration?” Rin asked.

“Classified,” Kakashi said. “One of the village’s darker secrets which I am not at liberty to discuss.”

“Shame, it would be interesting to figure it out,” Rin said. “Though I suppose several people would have ethical issues with it. I mean, summoning the dead back to life to fight for you? Who would be alright with that?”

“You do realize that was more or less the Holy Grail War in a nutshell, right?” Sakura said.

“Sounds like an interesting story,” Kakashi said.

“Oh it was,” Rin said and pointed at Shirou. “It was how I got to know this idiot after all.”

“Good times,” Shirou said.

Kakashi looked up at the sun. “Well, it’s almost lunch time and with our mission suspended, want to go get some food?”

“Sure, ramen?” Sakura suggested. “We could go to Ichiraku’s.”

“Let’s go then,” Rin said.

XXXXX

“No way,” Naruto said when the three of them told him about their mission. “You guys fought a monster and won!”

Naruto had been surprised when Shirou returned a few days earlier than he said he would with Sakura-nee and Rin-nee. He had come home, expecting to return to an empty house to find the three of them sipping tea while writing their mission report.

When Naruto asked them about their mission, they more or less told him everything, except the final part that made them end it early. It was surprisingly easy to censor it with fighting some monster out of the depths of the Forest of Death, instead of a zombie-like reanimated Iwa shinobi.

“Well, it wasn’t all fun and games,” Rin said. “We could have gotten seriously hurt.”

“But you didn’t,” Naruto said. “I’m going to go on an awesome mission too when I become a genin, believe it!”

“Well, you have to graduate first before you become a genin,” Sakura said. “Now, what’s this I heard about you playing hooky with Shikamaru-kun yesterday when we were gone?”

Naruto paled as the three of them gave him variations of their ‘I’m disappointed in you’ look. This was going to suck.

XXXXX

Shikamaru felt a chill go down his spine as he was cloud watching.

“What’s wrong?” Choji asked him, his munching on a bag of chips the only sound in the otherwise peaceful hillside.

“I don’t know,” Shikamaru said. “Just felt like I would be getting an earful when I get home.”

“Think your nee-san found out about you playing hooky?” Choji asked.

“No way,” Shikamaru said. “She’s out on a mission. Might be something to do with Ino. Yeah, that’s it.”

Poor Shikamaru would return home to his sister’s disappointed look and a ban on sweets for a month.

XXXXX

“Wow, the Nidaime was into some seriously dark shit,” one of the Intelligence Division’s shinobi said as he and several others like him sifted through the surviving files and documents found in the research base. It had taken them a while to clean the place up and recover any surviving documentation, but they had done it and were now going through decades old research.

“Well, he was a product of a different time,” his colleague said. “Still, reviving the bodies of your enemies deceased and turning them against their former allies… He really didn’t have as many scruples as his brother, the Shodaime huh.”

“What gave you that idea,” the first shinobi spook said. “The experiments using his brother’s cells to recreate the Mokuton or this?”

“Well… hang on,” the second shinobi spook said as he found something in the file he was going through. “This part is newer.”

“Newer?”

“As in it was written in the past few years, the ink is fresher,” the second one said. “Hmm, different handwriting with a different code too.”

“But… no one was supposed to have been down there before Kakashi’s team stumbled upon it,” the first spook said. “Does this mean there’s a different entrance we never found?”

“We better start looking then,” the second one said with a grimace. The contents in the documents and files they had read was dangerous, especially since given enough time, whoever had read this could recreate the Nidaime’s Edo Tensai if they understood what was written on it.

The Intelligence Division shinobi immediately started searching the whole place once again. They had done so once when they were first brought in but hadn’t found anything. This time, knowing that there was something to be found, they went about it with more thoroughness.

“I found something!” one of the spooks said. “It’s a secret tunnel!”

“You alert the higher ups,” the leader of the Intelligence shinobi present ordered the youngest one there. “The rest of you, with me. We’re going to see what’s at the end of that tunnel.”

The remaining Intelligence shinobi followed their leader into the tunnel, the only source of light being the flashlights in their hands. The whole tunnel was one way with no diverging one and after what seemed to be hours, but was in reality no more than 30 minutes, they stumbled upon a dead end.

The leader tapped the brick wall. “It’s hollow. There’s something on the other side. Look for a trap door or loose panel.”

After some time, they managed to find the brick that opened the wall. What they saw once they entered stunned some of them.

“Sir, what is this place?” one of the shinobi asked, seeing her senior freeze and pale once they entered.

The place was a lit facility, one that was more modern than the one they had just left. But to several of the shinobi there, it indicated something much worse.

“This was one of Orochimaru’s labs,” the leader said, paling at what this could mean. “I was here when he turned traitor and we were called in to catalogue everything. This means he must have been to the Nidaime’s research base before. He might have even read up and copied everything about the Edo Tensai.”

The leader walked towards where he knew the exit to the place was. “We need to inform the Hokage immediately!”

**Next update will come after the new year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.**

**Omake (Inspired by this** [ **https://www.reddit.com/r/grandorder/comments/88j0ws/emiya_santa_lily/** ](https://www.reddit.com/r/grandorder/comments/88j0ws/emiya_santa_lily/) **)**

In Konoha and the rest of the Elemental Nations, there was a day celebrated annually called the Rinne Festival. Originally a time for praying for the deceased, the Rinne Festival has since evolved into a holiday where friends and loved ones exchanged gifts.

Shirou sighed as he looked over at the extensive list of ingredients he would need to prepare for dinner tomorrow. The number of dishes he would have to cook were staggering. It was only thanks to having Sakura and Rin over to help that kept him from crumbling under the pressure.

It was tradition for them to have dinner at his place these days, after the girls finished whatever clan traditions they had for this special day. During this time of year, Shirou’s house was packed with friends and adopted family. And thus, the amount of food required was truly staggering.

“Good thing Saber and Taiga aren’t with us,” Shirou said. “Otherwise we’d need twice as much.”

Shirou noticed something coming from behind the house. He went out to the back to investigate. “Hmm, what’s this?”

Shirou picked it up. It was a Holy Grail. But not just any Holy Grail, for this was a Christmas Grail, from which Santa Servants were born.

“A Grail?” Shirou said with some alarm. What was a Holy Grail doing here? Was another war going to start? Or was this going to cause a Singularity?

Before Shirou could contemplate further, he was enveloped in light as the Grail did its magic on him.

XXXXX

“Shirou?” Rin called as she entered the house. She had noticed the flash of light and surge in magical energy coming from his house. She wasted no time and rushed over immediately to see if he was okay. Noticing the lack of any signs of battle or destruction, she cautiously entered the house.

Entering, Rin heard the sound of activity in the kitchen. ‘So he’s cooking. Good. But what was that flash of light?’

“Shirou, I’m coming into the kitchen,” Rin said. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she stopped and stared, stunned.

Shirou was moving about the kitchen, stirring pots, chopping ingredients and measuring cups of flour. That wasn’t what stunned her though, those activities were normal for her to see Shirou do.

What wasn’t normal was for Shirou to de-age to around nine years old and look like Archer. He was wearing Archer’s black chest armour but had shorts on instead of trousers. Instead of the red Holy Shroud Archer would wear over his arms and as a half robe, he had it on as a cape instead. The most noticeable thing he wore though, was the Christmas hat on his head.

“Rin!” Shirou said in a voice she hadn’t heard since before they were genin. It was honestly very cute, and she resisted the urge to pinch him on the cheeks. “Not a word!”

Rin covered her mouth with her hand as she held in her laughter. “You look like Archer if he was nine!”

Shirou just looked at her the way Archer would, except on such a young face it was more adorable than intimidating. Giving up, Rin laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

“Just for that, you’re getting fruit cake from me,” Shirou… no EMIYA Santa Lily grumbled. “And coal. An endless supply of it.”

Rin wiped away a tear as she composed herself. “So, what happened to you?”

“Don’t know,” Shirou said as he rolled some dough. “I was just getting ready for the Rinne Festival dinner tomorrow, you know seasoning meat, making cookie dough, the usual. Then, I heard something out back. Next thing you know, I found a Grail that turned me into this.” He pointed at the Grail he placed on the kitchen counter.

“Hmm…” Rin inspected him closely. “Are you a Servant?”

“Kind of, I think,” Shirou said. “I don’t feel any Master-Servant bond, but I certainly feel different. I think I’m a Caster. Also, I can’t resist the urge to cook a full Christmas dinner for some reason. Damn I hope I leave enough for tomorrow night.”

“I would have thought you’d be an Archer,” Rin said.

“I don’t need to be more like him if I can help it,” Shirou said.

“Shirou, Rin, I’m here!” Sakura called out as she entered the house.

“Oh boy,” Shirou sighed.

“So, what are we making this…” Sakura looked at the chibified Shirou. “…year?”

“It’s him by the way,” Rin said.

“S-S-Senpai?!” Sakura exclaimed. “Why are you so cute!”

“If I didn’t like you so much, I’d put you on the naughty list,” Shirou said.

“So, I guess he somehow became a Santa Servant,” Rin said. “I thought only female Servants became Santas.”

“Well, there was Karna,” Sakura said. Her hand inched closer to Shirou’s cheek.

Shirou grabbed the offending hand. “Oh no you don’t! Go help me stuff the turkey since you’re already here.”

“Aww…” Sakura sighed, dejected. She wanted to pinch those cheeks at least once.

Shirou glared at the Grail he placed on the counter. This had better be temporary.

XXXXX

Name: EMIYA Santa Lily (4 Star)

Class: Caster

HP: 1,639/10,098

Grail HP: 11,325

ATK: 2,139/9,864

Grail ATK: 12,239

Card Deck : AAAQB (A)

Passive Skills:

Magic Resistance – C

_Increases own debuff resistance by 12.5%._

Independent Action – B

_Increases own critical damage by 8%._

Territory Creation – D

_Increases own Arts performance by 10%._

Item Construction – B

_Increases own debuff success rate by 10%._

Active Skills:

Christmas Dinner – A+

_Increase NP gauge for all allies and increase party’s attack for 3 turns._

Hero of Justice(Santa) – B++

_Restore health and Critical Star Generation to one ally. If the servant targeted has “Good” Alignment, increase Critical Damage and Star Absorption_

Tracing(Santa)– A++

_Increases Arts, Buster and Quick cards Performance.(1-turn) Increases NP Gauge._

Noble Phantasm:

_Unlimited Coal Works (ARTS)_

_Rank – E-A+_

_Type – Anti Army(Evil)_

_Deals damage to all enemies and deals special damage to Evil enemies.(Increases with overcharge) 300% Chance to apply “Naughty” Debuff to all enemies.(Adds Evil trait.)_

**Jeanne Alter Santa Lily’s NP basically rains down trees and sleighs at her enemies while covering her allies in a pile of presents.**

**Santa Quetzalcoatl literally smashes a meteor sized present at her enemies.**

**EMIYA Santa Lily instead of raining down swords, does so with coal. All the naughty children better be good, for this Santa can’t run out of coal to give.**


End file.
